Displacement of Endoscopically Placed Plastic Biliary Endoprostheses into the Duodenum with a Simple Transhepatic Technique

Percutaneous solutions for biliary stent dysfunction: pictorial essay

Plastic and metal biliary stents can fail to function properly, such failure being due to a positioning error or to the migration, occlusion, or fracture of the stent. An obstructed biliary stent can act as a nidus, causing complications such as recurrent persistent cholangitis. It can also cause vascular complications (such as bleeding and the formation of pseudoaneurysms), perforate the liver capsule (causing biloma or abscess), or, in rare cases, cause intestinal obstruction or perforation. In this pictorial essay, we demonstrate various interventional radiology techniques for the treatment of biliary stent dysfunction in patients with obstructive biliary disease.

Percutaneous transhepatic techniques for retrieving fractured and intrahepatically dislodged percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage catheters

Dislodged intrabiliary drainage devices, including catheters, endoprostheses, and stents, may further impair drainage and cause various local reactions, vascular and gastrointestinal tract complications. Endoscopic approaches for management of plastic biliary endoprostheses have been extensively discussed. However, in rare cases of fracture of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) catheters, only a percutaneous transhepatic technique for retrieving should be applied to avoid further damage by its rigid fragment. We present the adjusted techniques using either a goose neck snare, over-the-wire balloon catheter, or biopsy forceps with image demonstration and reviews. We encountered two patients with PTBD tube fracture and intrahepatic dislodgment. In both patients, percutaneous approaches were used for successfully retrieving and removing the fractured catheter through transhepatic tract: one with the use of a biopsy forceps, another with an inflatable balloon catheter.

Malfunctioning Plastic Biliary Endoprosthesis: Percutaneous Transhepatic Balloon Pulling Technique

Percutaneous transhepatic removal techniques for malfunctioning plastic biliary endoprosthesis are considered safe and efficient second-line strategies, when endoscopic procedures are not feasible. We describe the percutaneous transhepatic balloon pulling technique in a patient with an unresectable malignant hilar cholangiocarcinoma.