Benign hepaticojejunostomy strictures after pancreatoduodenectomy.

Purpose: To determine the causes of benign hepaticojejunostomy strictures (BHSs) after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) and the outcome of endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) treatment for BHSs.

Methods: A total of 175 patients who underwent PD between January 2013 and December 2020 and who were followed up for at least 1 year were included. Preoperative data, operative outcomes, and postoperative courses were compared between the BHS group and the group of patients who did not develop stenosis during follow-up (non-BHS group). The course of treatment in the BHS group was also examined.

Results: BHS occurred in 13 of 175 patients (7.4%). Multivariate analysis of the BHS and non-BHS groups revealed that male sex (OR; 3.753, 95% CI; 1.029-18.003, P = 0.0448) and a preoperative bile duct diameter less than 8.8 mm (OR; 7.51, 95% CI; 1.75-52.40, P = 0.0053) were independent risk factors for the development of BHS. In the BHS group, all patients underwent ERC using enteroscopy. The success rate of the ERC approach to the bile duct was 92.3%. Plastic stents were inserted in 6 patients, and metallic stents were inserted in 3 patients. The median observation period since the last ERC was 17.9 months, and there was no recurrence of stenosis in any of the 13 patients.

Conclusions: Patients with narrow bile ducts are at greater risk of BHS after PD. Recently, BHS after PD has been treated with ERC-related procedures, which may reduce the burden on patients.