Stent Placement for Portal Vein Stenosis After Pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Abstract

Portal vein (PV) stenosis is a worrisome late complication following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) that causes intestinal bleeding from varices, which must be diagnosed correctly and treated promptly. Recent reports advocate the usefulness of stent placement to improve PV stenosis. We evaluated the cause, diagnosis, and treatment method of PV stenosis after PD and the duration of stent patency in our institution. Intestinal bleeding caused by PV stenosis occurred in 5 (2.4%) of 205 patients. A computed tomography scan was useful to diagnose this complication. Four of 5 patients with PV stenosis underwent percutaneous transhepatic PV stent placement. The duration of stent patency was 21-41 months, and no rebleeding occurred. Percutaneous stent placement is viable, less invasive option than laparotomy for the management of PV stenosis after PD.