Results of endoscopic treatment for the management of stenotic end-to-side hepaticoduodenostomy.

Purpose: The outcome of endoscopic treatment for the management of surgical end-to-side hepaticoduodenostomy (HD) has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of endoscopic management of HD.

Methods: The medical records of 17 patients with HD stenosis who were referred to the ERCP unit between August 2003 and June 2012 for endoscopic intervention were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: Fourteen patients presented with cholangitis, of whom, jaundice was the presenting complaint in 3 patients. Eight patients (47.1%) who had stents placed for a median of 2 (min, 1; max, 3) ERCP periods remained asymptomatic for a median stent-free period of 19.5 months (min, 7; max, 96 mo). Five patients (29.4%) who had stents placed for a median of 2 (min, 1; max, 5) ERCP periods presented with an episode of stone-related cholangitis for a mean of 41.8±28.9 months after stent removal. These 5 patients remained asymptomatic for a median of 9.5 months (min, 5; max, 40 mo) after endoscopic stone extraction. Three patients with HD (17.6%) were followed up with stents for 4 to 19 ERC periods. One HD patient (5.9%) who had cholangitis associated with secondary biliary cirrhosis died of cholangitis-related complications, despite the treatment with stents for 4 ERC periods.

Conclusion: Endoscopic management is also a realistic treatment option for stenotic HD anastomosis, although success rates may vary.