Use of an esophageal stent for successful treatment of significant choledocholithiasis to facilitate direct cholangioscopy

An 89-year-old woman with a history of cholecystectomy presented with abdominal pain, jaundice, and a common bile duct (CBD) dilated to 20  mm with a large stone burden. ERCP with sphincterotomy, sphincteroplasty, balloon sweeps, and mechanical lithotripsy facilitated the removal of many stones. However, a cholangiogram revealed a persistent stone burden. Sphincteroplasty with a 20-mm balloon dilator was repeated but was complicated b y postdilation bleeding despite balloon tamponade. A fully covered, self-expanding, through-the-scope esophageal metal stent measuring 18 mm × 60 mm (Taewoong Medical, Gyeonggi-do, Korea) was deployed into the CBD with successful hemostasis, with careful attention to avoid stone entrapment durin g deployment (Video 1, available online at www.giejournal.org).
Source: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: VideoGIE Source Type: research