Fractured guide wire in the main pancreatic duct during ERCP: A case report

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an excellent endoscopic method with a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic utility. The most common complication is post-ERCP pancreatitis with a reported incidence of 3.5 % followed by cholangitis, cholecystitis, gastrointestinal bleeding and duodenal perforation. Uncommon complications of the procedure reported in the literature include contrast allergy, cardio-pulmonary compromise, problems related to instruments such as impaction of a retrieval basket, fractured guidewire in the biliary or pancreatic channel, extravasation of contrast medium into the duodenal wall, splenic hemorrhage, hepatic trauma and complications related to the electrosurgical risk.

We present a case of a 37-year old woman referred to the Department of Abdominal Surgery because of severe abdominal pain and jaundice. Medical personal history of the patient was normal and she denied taking any medication. Following radiological and laboratory analysis, ERCP was completed. In our first attempt to selectively cannulate the CBD, unintentionally a guide wire passed in the main pancreatic duct. Attempting to retract the guide wire under fluoroscopy surveillance, the guide wire was fractured and fragments were left in the main pancreatic duct. Removal of the fragments was unsuccessful in several attempts. Consecutively, selective cannulation of the main pancreatic duct with placement of the pancreatic stent 5Fr/5cm was performed and careful cannulation of CBD was achieved. After the sphincterotomy, the biliary sludge and microlites were dispatched into the duodenum. The pancreatic stent was removed seven days later and patient underwent cholecystectomy four months later. No complications related to the procedure were revealed during the 24 months of follow-up.

A fractured guide-wire during the ERCP is an uncommon event that can occur during the selective cannulation of the common bile duct or pancreatic duct as in our presented case. However, data regarding the guidewire fracture during the ERCP are scarce since it is an uncommon occurrence. Our case is an example of rare and unusual complication during the ERCP, which was managed conservatively at our unit. Based on our research successful retrievals of the fractured guidewire from the main pancreatic duct are rarely reported and we found only two cases in the available literature. Concordantly with our case, acute and long-term pancreatico-biliary complications were not reported in previously published case reports with retained guide wire during the ERCP as we found only one case report in which authors report development of cholangitis related to the fracture of the hydrophilic guidewire. However, rare but serious life-threatening complications that can occur during the ERCP procedure should be identified in a timely manner and treated accordingly.

Fractured guide wire during the ERCP is very uncommon complication of the procedure with only few cases reported in the literature. Our experience suggests that no adverse sequels were triggered by the wire pieces left in the main pancreatic duct as the patient remained asymptomatic 2 years after the guide wire fracture.