Summary
Nine self-expanding metallic stents were implanted in 7 patients to relieve biliary
obstruction. One patient had a benign stricture and 6 patients had malignant stenoses.
The stent was inserted percutaneously on a 7 F delivery catheter in 6 patients. Endoscopic
transpapillary implantation was performed in one patient. After release the stent
expanded to a diameter of 8-10 mm. The correct position was checked by fluoroscopy
and cholangiography. In addition, percutaneous cholangioscopy was carried out in 6
patients. No complications were observed within 30 days. Clinical improvement was
seen in all patients. After a mean follow-up period of 11 weeks (range: 3-17) 6 of
the 7 patients are still alive with no evidence of biliary reobstruction. One patient
died of disseminated malignancy. The initial results are promising. The wide-bore
diameter, the macroporous configuration and the small surface area of the implanted
self-expanding stents would seem to be associated with lower rates of infection, clogging
and migration as compared with conventional endoprostheses. Further trials are warranted
to determine the future role of self-expanding stents in biliary obstruction.
Key words:
Biliary obstruction - Biliary tract neoplasms - Metallic stent - Endoprosthesis
