Percutaneous removal of retained intrahepatic stones with a pre-shaped angulated catheter: review of 96 patients.

Intrahepatic biliary stone disease is prevalent in East Asia and there is a high frequency of retained intrahepatic stones after surgical treatment. Percutaneous removal of retained intrahepatic stones with a pre-shaped angulated catheter and a Dormier basket was attempted in a group of 96 patients who had a T-tube. Seventy-six had multiple intrahepatic stones, confined to one hepatic lobe in 52 patients. Stones were exclusively intrahepatic in 68 cases. Biliary strictures were present in 92 cases (95.8%). A combination of techniques was used including pre-shaped angulated catheters, irrigation suction, balloon dilatation of strictures, crushing of large stones and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. Retained stones were completely removed in 48 cases, and incompletely removed in 22 cases. The overall success rate was 72.9%. There were only minor complications. No mortality or significant morbidity requiring hospitalization occurred. Angular deformity, stricture of bile ducts and impacted stones were the most frequent factors responsible for failure or incomplete removal of retained stones. Fluoroscopically guided percutaneous interventional procedures with a pre-shaped angulated catheter are useful complementary procedures to surgery for patients with intrahepatic stones. The major benefits of an individually angulated catheter are safety and easy access to small peripheral bile ducts.     

Percutaneous removal of retained intrahepatic stones utilizing combination of techniques with emphasis on a preshaped angulated catheter: review of 170 patients

Intrahepatic stones are frequently associated with recurrent cholangiohepatitis and complete surgical removal of the stones is almost always difficult because of the large number of stones and the associated bile duct strictures. One hundred and seventy patients with retained intrahepatic stones underwent percutaneous stone removal utilizing pre-shaped angulated catheters, 9-F polyethylene tubes with different angles of distal tip, and Dormia baskets under fluoroscopy with a combination of techniques including irrigation-suction, crushing of large stones, balloon dilatation of strictures and extracorporenal shock wave lithotripsy. The procedure was performed through a mature T-tube tract (168 patients) and a mature transhepatic tube tract (two patients). Stones were exclusively intrahepatic in 125 patients, whereas 45 patients also had stones in the common bile duct.In 84 (49.4%) of 170 patients, the stones were completely removed and in 36 (21.2%) patients, most of the stones were removed. Overall success rate was 70.6%. Angulation deformity, stricture of bile ducts and impacted stones were the factor mosto ften responsible for failure. No significant complications were observed.Fluoroscopically-guided percutaneous interventional procedures with a pre-shaped angulated catheter is a useful complementary procedure to surgery for patients with intrahepatic stones. The major benefits of an individually fitted angulated catheter are its safety and easy access to small peripheral bile ducts.     

Retained intrahepatic stones: treatment with piezoelectric lithotripsy combined with stone extraction

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was performed in 11 patients with oriental cholangiohepatitis and intrahepatic stones associated with segmented strictures of intrahepatic ducts. All patients had previously undergone biliary surgery and basket extraction via a T-tube tract at the time of lithotripsy. The indication for ESWL was failure of, or anticipated difficulty with, basket extraction of the stones via a T-tube tract. A piezoelectric lithotriptor was used in all procedures. The average total number of shock waves administered was 29,756 (range, 10,000-61,395). The average number of treatment sessions was 3.1 (range, 1-6); the number of shock waves used in a single session ranged from 10,000 to 15,000 with a frequency of five shots per second and 30%-50% power. In six patients, the stones were successfully fragmented and completely removed; in three of the others of the stones were fragmented and removed. The overall success rate, including complete (54%) and incomplete (27%) success, was 82%. Difficulty in targeting stones, and severe strictures and deformities of intrahepatic ducts, were the factors responsible for failure. No significant complications were observed.     

The radiological management of biliary complications following liver transplantation

Purpose: Biliary complications contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in the liver transplant recipient. Surgery has been the mainstay of therapy, but interventional radiological techniques have made significant progress. Methods: Diagnostic percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) was performed in 12 patients; percutaneous transhepatic drainage (PTD) was performed in 10 patients. Additional interventional procedures included laser lithotripsy, biopsy, dilatation, and stent implantation. Results: In 6 patients PTC revealed anastomotic, and in 6 patients nonanastomotic biliary strictures. Four patients had intrahepatic stones. Biliary strictures were treated by implantation of Palmaz stents in 5 of 6 patients with anastomotic strictures, and in 3 of 6 patients with nonanastomotic strictures. The intrahepatic stones were fragmented with dye laser lithotripsy under cholangioscopic control in 3 of 4 patients. One spontaneous stent migration after 24 months and one stent occlusion were observed; the remaining stents are still patent. Patients with anastomotic strictures had a more favorable outcome: 5 of 6 of these patients are still alive and symptom-free after an average of 27.4 months, but only 3 of 6 patients with nonanastomotic strictures are alive after an average of 9.8 months. Conclusion: The different outcomes in patients with anastomotic versus nonanastomotic strictures may be explained by the different causes of these types of stricture.     

Balloon dilation of intrahepatic biliary strictures for percutaneous extraction of residual intrahepatic stones

Intrahepatic ductal strictures in cholangiohepatitis present an obstacle to successful removal of retained ductal stones via T-tube tracts. We studied the effectiveness of stricture dilatation for stone removal. Fifteen patients with intrahepatic gallstones retained behind strictures underwent balloon dilatation of their strictures to allow stone extraction. All had prior surgical T-tube placement allowing percutaneous access. Balloon dilatation was successful in reducing or eliminating strictures in 86.7% (13 of 15 patients), and complete stone extraction after the successful dilatation was possible in 76.9% (10 of 13 patients). The reasons for failure were impacted stones and acute ductal angulation which prevented passage of catheters. It is concluded that balloon dilatation of intrahepatic biliary strictures is an effective adjunct for extraction of intrahepatic biliary calculi associated with recurrent pyogenic cholangiohepatitis.     

肝切除联合电子胆道镜治疗肝内胆管结石

目的：探讨肝切除联合电子胆道镜治疗肝内胆管结石的疗效。方法：回顾性分析2004-01～2010-01经肝切除并联合术中及术后电子胆道镜治疗的186例肝内胆管结石病例。结果：186例患者均行相应的肝叶（段）切除和术中胆道镜取石,59例（31.7%）术后有残留结石,术后胆道镜残余结石总取净率为88.1%（52/59）,186例患者总治愈率为96.2%（179/186）,总残石率为3.8%（7/186）。结论：肝切除联合电子胆道镜是治疗肝内胆管结石的一种有效方法,电子胆道镜在治疗肝内胆管结石中起到了重要作用。     

Treatment of postoperative residual hepatolithiasis after progressive sleeting of associated bile duct strictures through the T-tube tract

Purpose: The authors report their experience with the treatment of intrahepatic bile duct strictures associated with hepatolithiasis. Methods: Eighty patients had multiple postoperative retained intrahepatic duct stones trapped behind intrahepatic biliary strictures. Before stone extraction, the strictures were opened gradually by semirigid dilators, followed by stent placement to create enough patency for stone removal. All procedures were carried out through the T-tube tracts and were aided by cholangioscopy and electrohydraulic lithotripsy. Results: Complete clearance of stones was achieved in 69 patients. Failure to dilate the strictures was due to acute and multiple ductal angulations. These included the right posterior inferior intrahepatic duct at its junction with the left intrahepatic ducts when it was more than 2 cm distal to the hepatic bifurcation, when the angle between the T-tube tract and the common bile duct was smaller than 90°, and when stones were located in peripheral intrahepatic ducts with more than five angulations. Conclusion: This technique is considered safe and effective for complicated hepatolithiasis with intrahepatic biliary strictures     

Biliary complications after liver transplantation in patients with preexisting sclerosing cholangitis

To determine if biliary complications after liver transplantation are more frequent in patients with preexisting sclerosing cholangitis and to clarify the role of interventional procedures in this setting, the authors reviewed all 40 adult cases in which liver transplantation was performed at their institution over a 3 1/2-year period. Biliary complications, particularly strictures at the choledochojejunostomy and debris in the intrahepatic and common ducts, were seen in six of ten liver transplant patients (60%) with preexisting sclerosing cholangitis; this is six times the frequency of biliary complications seen in other adult recipients (10%). Biliary complications were definitively diagnosed and managed with interventional radiologic procedures. Obstruction due to anastomotic strictures required treatment with balloon dilation in all six of the affected patients. Obstructive biliary complications occur in many liver recipients with preexisting sclerosing cholangitis. These complications require aggressive radiologic assessment and intervention but to date have not adversely affected survival.     

肝内胆管结石的手术治疗

目的　探讨肝内胆管结石并狭窄的手术治疗方法及其效果。　方法　回顾性总结了 1990年 1月～ 2 0 0 2年 1月间16 3例肝内胆管结石并胆管狭窄的外科手术治疗情况。　结果　 16 3例其中行肝叶切除 5 9例 ,胆总管切开取石 T管引流 5 3例 ,胆总管切开取石 U形管引流 5例 ,胆肠吻合 肝叶切除或胆总管取石 92例。肝门部肝胆管狭窄整形 6 6例。术后残留结石 31例 ,术后经胆道镜取石 16例 ,其余 15例中有 7例再次手术行肝叶切除治愈。有 18例术后常有上腹隐痛或发烧。　结论　肝内胆管结石并狭窄常需要联合手术治疗 ,去除病灶 ,解除梗阻 ,畅通引流是外科的治疗原则。三者缺一不可 ,肝内胆管结石的病人常常有不同程度的肝叶纤维化、肝萎缩和肝胆管狭窄并存。手术必需切除病变肝叶 ,狭窄整形及胆肠内引流联合进行     

Oriental cholangiohepatitis: diagnostic imaging and interventional management

Diagnostic and therapeutic radiologic experience with six patients who had oriental cholangiohepatitis is described. These patients combined had 10 prior operations. Postoperatively each had recurrent cholangitis, numerous stones, concretions, and/or bile duct strictures. Diagnostically, sonography was valuable in the detection of intra- and extrahepatic stones and extrahepatic dilatation of ducts. An important pitfall in sonography was poor visualization of intrahepatic ductal dilatation (due to echogenic sludge filling the ducts) in most patients. CT was helpful diagnostically in all respects. Interventional procedures used postoperatively included percutaneous transhepatic intrahepatic stones, and flushing techniques. Most patients were treated during multiple sessions as outpatients. Cholangitis was the only complication from the procedures. Sectional imaging and interventional radiology perform valuable diagnostic and therapeutic roles in the pre- and postoperative management of patients with oriental cholangiohepatitis.     

纤维胆道镜联合钬激光治疗肝胆管结石的体会

目的总结分析纤维胆道镜联合钬激光治疗肝胆管结石的临床经验。方法2009年1月至2013年6月，肝内外胆管结石76例，采用纤维胆道镜联合钬激光治疗。结果76例患者手术均取石成功。术后并发症9例，其中切口感染4例，肺部感染3例，胆漏2例，均治愈。术后随访6个月至3年，平均17个月，经B超或“T”管造影检查，未发现结石复发、残留及胆管狭窄。结论纤维胆道镜联合钬激光治疗肝胆管结石具有创伤小、并发症少、取石率高、残石率低等优点，可同时发现并处理胆管狭窄。     

Intraoperative sonography: clinical usefulness in liver surgery

In the past 4 years intraoperative sonography was performed on 83 patients with primary hepatic carcinoma, 11 with benign hepatic tumor, nine with intrahepatic lithiasis, five with metastatic hepatic carcinoma, and four with other benign hepatic diseases, for a total of 112 patients. Ultrasonography detected primary carcinoma in 80 of 83 patients (96.4%) and intrahepatic metastases in 30 of 33 patients (90.9%), as confirmed later in surgical specimens. Tumor thrombi in the portal vein were detected in nine of 13 patients (69.2%). In patients with intrahepatic lithiasis and benign space-occupying lesions, residual stones could be assessed easily and the nature and location of the lesions identified. Intraoperative sonography demonstrates intrahepatic ductal structures clearly and is the final diagnostic imaging procedure before surgery.     

MR cholangiopancreatography in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis: interobserver variability and comparison with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to determine the degree of interobserver variability and correlation between MR cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for the presence of bile duct strictures in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this retrospective study involving 26 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, 31 MR cholangiopancreatograms were compared with 30 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatograms. The MR cholangiopancreatograms were independently interpreted by two abdominal radiologists in a blinded, randomized manner for overall image quality, extent of ductal visualization, and the presence and location of bile duct strictures. Unweighted multirater kappa coefficient values were estimated for each comparison. RESULTS: Visualization of more than 50% of the expected ductal length was possible in the extrahepatic, central intrahepatic, and peripheral intrahepatic bile ducts in 99%, 88%, and 69% of the MR cholangiopancreatograms and 100%, 86%, and 52% of the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatograms, respectively. Strictures were detected in the extrahepatic, central, and peripheral ducts in 53%, 68%, and 87% of the MR cholangiopancreatograms and 73%, 67%, and 63% of the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatograms, respectively. The interobserver agreement for stricture detection was 61% for MR cholangiopancreatography and 76% for ERCP. MR cholangiopancreatographic findings were consistent with ERCP findings for the presence of strictures in 69% of the cases. CONCLUSION: In patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, MR cholangiopancreatography better shows the bile ducts and can depict more strictures, especially of the peripheral intrahepatic ducts, than ERCP. MR cholangiopancreatography can be used to noninvasively diagnose and follow up patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.     

Primary sclerosing cholangitis: value of cholangiography in determining the prognosis

We studied cholangiograms in 129 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) to determine if there was a correlation between any of the findings and the prognosis of the disease. The grade, length, and extent of strictures, the degree of bile duct dilatation, and the distribution of lesions were evaluated. Survival curves were generated to test the association of these radiologic signs with subsequent survival. High-grade intrahepatic duct strictures (greater than 75% narrowing) were associated with a 19% decrease in 3-year survival (p = .05) compared with lower-grade strictures. Diffuse intrahepatic strictures (involving greater than 25% of the ducts) were associated with a 16% decrease in 3-year survival (p = .012) compared with localized strictures. Statistically insignificant (p greater than .05) but measurable decreases in survival were observed with high-grade extrahepatic duct strictures, diffuse involvement of the extrahepatic ducts, long confluent strictures anywhere in the biliary tree, and marked dilatation of the intrahepatic ducts. In general, intrahepatic duct disease was found to have greater prognostic significance than extrahepatic duct disease. High-grade strictures and diffuse strictures of the intrahepatic ducts were found to be indicators of a poor prognosis in PSC and were more predictive of a poor prognosis than was extrahepatic duct disease.     

Intrahepatic calculi: imaging by MR

The magnetic resonance (MR) examinations of six patients with intrahepatic calculi were reviewed retrospectively to 1) determine the ability of MR to demonstrate intrahepatic calculi and 2) assess the MR appearance of the stones. In five out of six cases, MRI demonstrated intrahepatic calculi. In three cases, stones exhibited a low intensity signal on the different spin echo (SE) sequences, as previously described by in vitro and in vivo studies. However in two other cases, a significant signal with short T1 and relatively long T2 relaxation times was noticed. These different features are discussed in relation to chemical and physical differences in intrahepatic calculi and compared with variable CT attenuation values of stones. MRI seems to provide complementary information concerning intrahepatic calculi.     

Percutaneous transhepatic balloon dilatation of benign biliary strictures

Between February 1981 and June 1984, 15 patients with benign biliary strictures were treated with percutaneous transhepatic balloon dilatation. Three of these patients had received liver transplants. The treatment began with a course of balloon dilatation therapy, after which a stent catheter was left across the stricture. Six weeks later, after duct patency had been shown by cholangiography, the stent catheter was removed from all but two patients, both of whom had intrahepatic sclerosing cholangitis. After this procedure, six patients (40%), including two liver-transplant patients, were stricture-free after one treatment for periods ranging from 27 to 56 months, and were considered to be treatment successes. Nine patients (60%) suffered stricture recurrences. In eight of these patients, the stricture was heralded by symptoms of either cholangitis or jaundice; in one patient, who was on permanent catheter drainage, the stricture was discovered only on follow-up cholangiography. All successfully treated patients had only one stricture, while all patients with more than one stricture suffered recurrences. Our data also suggest a greater responsiveness for anastomotic strictures than for non-anastomotic strictures. Of the patients with recurrences, five had symptom-free intervals of 23 months or more (up to 31 months). The fact that strictures recurred after such long periods of time underscores the importance of long-term follow-up. In view of the number of patients helped, the favorable experience with post-liver-transplantation strictures, and the lack of any major complications in our series, percutaneous biliary balloon dilatation offers a viable alternative to surgical management of benign biliary strictures.     

肝移植术后肝内胆管狭窄的球囊扩张治疗

目的：成球囊扩张肝移植术后肝内胆管狭窄的疗效进行初步的探索和总结。方法：100例接受肝移植的病人，对其中16例存在肝内胆管狭窄者均采用经T管球囊扩张治疗，并对治疗前后肝功能检查，T管造影检查，T管引流量的检查，临床表现进行对比观察。结果：16例病人中14例球囊扩张成功，2例扩张无交,未发生与球囊扩张相关的并发症；随访期间6例保持通畅，4例分别于扩张1，2，4个月后出现再狭窄，均再次行球囊扩张治疗，5例病人死于肝动脉狭窄引起的肝功能衰竭。结论：球囊扩张治疗对于肝移植后肝内胆管狭窄是一种有效而且相对安全治疗方法，对于再狭窄者，再次进行球囊扩张仍可取得很好的效果。     

Role of magnetic resonance cholangiography in biliary complications of orthotopic liver transplantation

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) in the detection of biliary complications following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).

Materials and methods

Seventy-eight transplant patients with clinically suspected biliary complications were evaluated with 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a surface coil. All patients were imaged with the following sequences: axial T1-weighted and axial and coronal T2-weighted, 2D spin echo (SE) breath-hold radial cholangiography, and coronal 3D single-shot turbo spin echo (SS-TSE) with respiratory triggering. Patients with negative MRI underwent clinical and sonographic followup. When biliary complications were present, diagnostic confirmation was obtained by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (n=13), percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) (n=20), ultrasonography (n=10) or computed tomography (CT) (n=2). In 11 cases, surgical confirmation was also obtained.

Results

MRC detected biliary complications in 44/78 patients, in particular, 42 biliary strictures (37 anastomotic and five intrahepatic), 40 of which were confirmed by other imaging modalities. In 25/37 cases of anastomotic stricture, preanastomotic dilatation of the biliary tract was also demonstrated. Other MRC-detected biliary complications were biliary sludge (n=4), biloma (n=5), and biliary stones (n=3). In four cases, PTC revealed biliary complications that had not been detected with MRC (false negative results). In two cases, MRC showed unconfirmed strictures of the intrahepatic ducts and biliodigestive anastomosis (false positive results). The sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values and diagnostic accuracy of MRC were 93.5%, 94.4%, 96.7%, 89.5% and 93.9%, respectively.

Conclusions

Our results confirm that MRC is a reliable technique for depicting biliary anastomoses and detecting biliary complications after OLT. The high diagnostic accuracy of MRC indicates that this examination should be routinely employed in all OLT patients with clinically suspected biliary complications.     

Sonography of gallstones and biliary dilatation without a visible aetiology: the infrequency of obstructing choledocholithiasis

This paper describes 50 consecutive patients who sonographically had gallbladder stones and dilated bile ducts, but no visible aetiology for the dilatation. We reviewed these cases to determine the frequency of choledocholithiasis in this setting. Common duct stones caused obstruction in only 36% of these patients. Other aetiologies included strictures due to chronic pancreatitis or prior stone passage in 24% of the patients, and malignant obstruction in 16%. In 24% of the patients, no cause was found for biliary dilatation; common duct stones or obstructing tumours were excluded in the group. Since aetiologies other than stones are likely in a majority of cases, further preoperative workup (CT, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, ERCP) or intraoperative cholangiography (if the patient requires urgent cholecystectomy) is indicated. The additional studies should provide a diagnosis, help determine whether or not the common duct should be explored, or avoid unnecessary operation in case of incurable malignancy.     

Oral contrast-enhanced three-dimensional helical-CT cholangiography: clinical applications

Our objective was to define the possibility of using oral-contrast-enhanced helical CT for the assessment of patients with cholecystolithiasis and of cholecystectomized symptomatic patients. Twenty-seven patients with cholecystolithiasis and 20 with a painful abdominal symptomatology after cholecystectomy (12 laparoscopic and 8 laparotomic) were recruited for this study. Cholangio-CT was performed 12–14 h after oral administration of 6 g of hyopanoic acid. The acquired data were then transferred to a second workstation and 3D reconstruction of the biliary tract was obtained. In all the cases the extrahepatic bile ducts were recognizable. Seven patients had no gallbladder opacification: CT images showed in 3 cases an infundibular stone and in 4 cases sclero-atrophic gallbladder. The intrahepatic bile ducts were visible in 21 of 27 patients with lithiasis and in 14 of 20 cholecystectomized patients. In 5 cholecystectomized patients cholangio-CT demonstrated the presence of residual choledochal or intrahepatic stones. In 3 cholecystectomized patients 3D reconstruction allowed identification of a long and winding stump of the cystic duct. Cholangio-CT is a non-invasive method to evaluate the biliary tract in patients who cannot be subjected to cholangio-MR, or as a preliminary to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in cases of doubtful diagnosis after US and cholangio-MR. Electronic Publication