Percutaneous Transhepatic Treatment Using Retrievable Covered Stents in Patients with Benign Biliary Strictures: Mid-term Outcomes in 68 Patients

Abstract

Percutaneous balloon dilation of benign biliary stricture has been the most widely used alternative to endoscopic treatment; however, the rate of recurrence has varied from 15 to 44 %. Recently, several investigators have reported that percutaneous transhepatic placement of retrievable covered stents is feasible for the treatment of benign biliary strictures. However, these studies had only a small number of patients and had short follow-up periods. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mid-term outcomes of a retrievable covered stent for treatment of benign biliary strictures. We retrospectively assessed 68 patients who underwent percutaneous transhepatic placement and removal of a retrievable covered stent between March 2007 and November 2012, for treatment of benign biliary strictures. Forty-two patients had not previously undergone interventional treatment, whereas 26 had recurrent or refractory strictures despite previous percutaneous procedures. Placement of the retrievable covered stents was technically successful in all patients. Stent migration occurred in 11 (16.2 %) patients. The mean indwelling period of drainage catheter and stent were 5.8 months (range, 3-22.5 months) and 3 months (range, 2-6.5 months), respectively. Clinical success was achieved in 59 (86.8 %) patients. During the mean follow-up of 36 months (range, 8.5-65 months), 12 (20 %) of 60 patients had recurrence of clinically significant strictures. The primary patency rates at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years were 91, 89, 76, 68, and 68 %, respectively. Mid-term outcomes suggested that percutaneous treatment of benign biliary strictures using a retrievable covered stent was a clinically effective method.