Background and aims: Endoscopic multiple plastic stents are an established first-line treatment for anastomotic biliary stricture (ABS) management after liver transplantation (LT). Fully covered self-expandable metallic stents (FCSEMSs) have recently been used with favorable outcomes, but long-term treatment outcomes remain an issue for ABS. We evaluated the long-term outcomes of FCSEMS for the management of refractory ABS after LT.
Methods: We reviewed the prospectively collected and maintained endoscopic retrograde cholangiography database at Asan Medical Center to retrieve consecutive post-LT ABS cases that underwent an endoscopic FCSEMS placement between August 2009 and August 2019 after MPS placement failure.
Results: A total of 34 patients were enrolled in this study. Technical success had been achieved in all subjects (100%). The median stent placement duration was 3.1 months (IQR 2.7-6.1). Stricture resolution was achieved in 26 patients (clinical success 76.5%, 95% confidence interval 62-91). Early adverse events developed in 3 patients (8.8%), including distal stent migration. Late adverse events occurred in 9 patients (26.5%), including cholangitis (n = 7, 20.6%) and asymptomatic distal stent migration (n = 2, 5.9%). The median follow-up period was 57.9 months (IQR 51.9-64.3). Stricture recurrence occurred in 3 of 26 patients who achieved clinical success (11.5%).
Conclusions: FCSEMS placement appears to be an effective and advisable intervention for refractory ABS as it can provide persistent stricture improvement over the long-term.
Keywords: Cholangiopancreatography; Cholestasis; Constriction; Endoscopic retrograde; Liver transplantation; Self-expandable metallic stents.
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.