Long-term outcomes of a benign biliary stricture protocol

To evaluate long-term outcomes of a structured protocol for percutaneous treatment of benign biliary stricture.

Seventy-one patients (37 men, 34 women; mean age, 54 y; age range, 23-84 y) entered the protocol, which consisted of staged upsizing of internal/external biliary catheters, balloon dilation (nominally 8 mm), and prolonged stent treatment (6 mo) at maximal catheter size (nominally 18 F). It concluded with a capping trial and catheter removal if the stricture remained patent. Fifty-three patients completed the protocol and 18 did not (6 died, 6 underwent alternative treatment, 4 were lost to follow-up, and 2 underwent repeat transplantation). Stricture features, treatment parameters, complications, and outcomes were reviewed, and Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted.

Strictures were anastomotic in 45 patients (64%), intrahepatic in 14 (20%), extrahepatic in 7 (10%), and multiple (intra- and extrahepatic) in 5 (7%). A right-sided approach was used in 47 patients (66%) patients, a left-sided approach in 18 (25%), and a bilateral approach in 6 (9%). Forty-six patients who entered the protocol (65%) and 46 patients who completed the protocol (87%) showed stricture patency. Four of 7 patients in whom a capping trial failed underwent surgical revision, 2 required chronic biliary drainage, and 1 received a metal stent. Follow-up (range, 0-12 y; mean, 4.7 y) was obtained for 42 of 53 patients who completed the protocol (79%). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed stricture patency probabilities of 84% at 1 year after treatment, 78% at 2 years, 74% at 5 years, and 67% at 10 years.

Use of a structured protocol for the percutaneous treatment of benign biliary strictures yields durable long-term results, suggesting that percutaneous treatment is an effective therapy.