Gut Liver.  2018 Nov;12(6):722-727. 10.5009/gnl17468.

Prospective Multicenter Study of the Challenges Inherent in Using Large Cell-Type Stents for Bilateral Stent-in-Stent Placement in Patients with Inoperable Malignant Hilar Biliary Obstruction

• Yang MJ
• Kim JH
• Hwang JC
• Yoo BM
• Lee SH
• Ryu JK
• Kim YT
• Woo SM
• Lee WJ
• Jeong S
• Lee DH

• KMID: 2427463
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl17468

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Although endoscopic bilateral stent-in-stent placement is challenging, many recent studies have reported promising outcomes regarding technical success and endoscopic re-intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the technical accessibility of stent-in-stent placement using large cell-type stents in patients with inoperable malignant hilar biliary obstruction.
METHODS
Forty-three patients with inoperable malignant hilar biliary obstruction from four academic centers were prospectively enrolled from March 2013 to June 2015.
RESULTS
Bilateral stent-in-stent placement using two large cell-type stents was successfully performed in 88.4% of the patients (38/43). In four of the five cases with technical failure, the delivery sheath of the second stent became caught in the hook-cross-type vertex of the large cell of the first stent, and subsequent attempts to pass a guidewire and stent assembly through the mesh failed. Functional success was achieved in all cases of technical success. Stent occlusion occurred in 63.2% of the patients (24/38), with a median patient survival of 300 days. The median stent patency was 198 days. The stent patency rate was 82.9%, 63.1%, and 32.1% at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, respectively. Endoscopic re-intervention was performed in 14 patients, whereas 10 underwent percutaneous drainage.
CONCLUSIONS
Large cell-type stents for endoscopic bilateral stent-in-stent placement had acceptable functional success and stent patency when technically successful. However, the technical difficulty associated with the entanglement of the second stent delivery sheath in the hook-cross-type vertex of the first stent may preclude large cell-type stents from being considered as a dedicated standard tool for stent-in-stent placement.

Keyword

Cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic retrograde; Klatskin tumor; Cholestasis, intrahepatic; Self expandable metallic stents

MeSH Terms

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde
Cholestasis, Intrahepatic
Drainage
Humans
Klatskin Tumor
Prospective Studies*
Self Expandable Metallic Stents
Stents*