Displaced metallic biliary stents: technique and rationale for interventional radiologic retrieval

We investigated the spontaneous course and the possibility of transhepatic removal of displaced biliary stents.

Displaced biliary stents were observed in 11 patients (13-75 years old) between October 1988 and August 1996. Stent types included the Palmaz stent (n = 3), Wallstent (n = 3), and the Strecker stent (n = 5). Reasons for stent displacement included primary misplacement (n = 4), dislocation due to transhepatic endoscopy with biopsy (n = 2), dislocation resulting from a recanalization maneuver in stent occlusion (n = 3), and unknown causes (n = 2). In three cases, the stent was displaced into the proximal bile duct system. Seven patients had primary malignancy.

Eight of 11 displaced biliary stents were removed transhepatically. Extraction was performed using either a wire loop (n = 4) or forceps (n = 4). No complications occurred. In the remaining three patients, whose stents were displaced into the intestine, no invasive action was taken. In one of these patients, a Palmaz stent was passed spontaneously after 1 week. In the second of these patients, a 6 cm Wallstent remained innocuously at a position in the right lower abdomen, and the patient died as a result of malignancy. In the third patient, who had a 10-cm Wallstent, an abscess developed in the stent region 4 months after displacement and resulted in formation of an ileocutaneous fistula.

Transhepatic extraction of displaced biliary stents is technically possible, even in the case of rigid stents such as the Palmaz stent. Because of the risk of intestinal perforation, displaced stents should be removed.