The Role of Endoscopy in the Treatment of Biliary Complications after Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

Abstract

Aim: to improve the results of treating patients with anastomotic biliary strictures of the bile ducts after orthotopic liver transplantation.Materials and methods. This study is based on the results of the endoscopic treatment of 36 patients with biliary complications after orthotopic liver transplantation, who were admitted to the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine from December 2001 to December 2017. The endoscopic treatment program included diagnostic ERCP, endoscopic papillosphincterotomy (EPST), bilioduodenal stenting, nasobiliary drainage, balloon dilatation.Results. Against the background of the staged endoscopic treatment, the stable remission of anastomotic biliary strictures (ABS) was achieved in 17 (53.1 %) patients, with 4 of them (12.5 %) showing a successfully resolved insufficiency of biliobiliary anastomosis (BBA). The average duration of endoscopic treatment was 12 ± 1.9 months. The number of ERCPs performed for each patient varied from 1 to 12 and averaged 3. In the majority of patients (75 %) who received one or more courses of endoscopic treatment, a successful correction of anastomotic strictures with no recurrence within 2–5 years was achieved.Conclusion. Staged endoscopic treatment is established to be highly effective in patients with anastomotic biliary strictures and the insufficiency of bilobiliary anastomoses occurred after orthotopic liver transplantation. Such a treatment allows good long-term results to be achieved by a minimally invasive method.

Keywords

• orthotopic liver transplantation
• biliary complications
• anastomotic stricture
• insufficiency of biliary anastomoses
• bilioduodenal stenting
• endoscopic retrograde cholangiography