Intraductal shock-wave lithotripsy in complicated common bile duct stones

Summary Intracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy was performed in 36 patients with problematic common bile duct stones. All of the patients had undergone unsuccessful mechanical lithotripsy prior to this procedure. In 29 patients (80.6%), the stones were fragmented under cholangioscopic control and subsequently extracted with a Dormia basket. In seven patients, the procedure failed due to stone impaction or failure to intubate the common bile duct with a nasobiliary tube. No complications were observed. Cholangioscopically guided intracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy is a highly effective and safe procedure for the conservative treatment of complicated common bile duct stones.Abbreviations ESWL extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy - ISWL intracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy Dedicated to Prof. Dr. med. Ludwig Demling on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Efficacy of SpyGlass~(TM)-directed biopsy compared to brush cytology in obtaining adequate tissue for diagnosis in patients with biliary strictures

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic yield(inflammatory activity) and efficiency(size of the biopsy specimen) of SpyGlassTM-guided biopsy vs standard brush cytology in patients with and without primary sclerosing cholangitis(PSC).METHODS: At the University Medical Center Mainz, Germany, 35 consecutive patients with unclear biliarylesions(16 patients) or long-standing PSC(19 patients) were screened for the study. All patients underwent a physical examination, lab analyses, and abdominal ultrasound. Thirty-one patients with non-PSC strictures or with PSC were scheduled to undergo endoscopic retrograde cholangiography(ERC) and subsequent per-oral cholangioscopy(POC). Standard ERC was initially performed, and any lesions or strictures were localized. POC was performed later during the same session. The Boston Scientific SpyGlass SystemTM(Natick, MA, United States) was used for choledochoscopy. The biliary tree was visualized, and suspected lesions or strictures were biopsied, followed by brush cytology of the same area. The study endpoints(for both techniques) were the degree of inflammation, tissue specimen size, and the patient populations(PSC vs non-PSC). Inflammatory changes were divided into three categories: none, low activity, and high activity. The specimen quantity was rated as low, moderate, or sufficient.RESULTS: SpyGlassTM imaging and brush cytology with material retrieval were performed in 29 of 31(93.5%) patients(23 of the 29 patients were male). The median patient age was 45 years(min, 20 years; max, 76 years). Nineteen patients had known PSC, and 10 showed non-PSC strictures. No procedure-related complications were encountered. However, for both methods, tissues could only be retrieved from 29 pa-tients. In cases of inflammation of the biliary tract, the diagnostic yield of the SpyGlassTM-directed biopsies was greater than that using brush cytology. More tissue material was obtained for the biopsy method than for the brush cytology method(P = 0.021). The biopsies showed significantly more inflammatory characteristics and greater inflammatory activity compared to the cy-tological investigation(P = 0.014). The greater quantity of tissue samples proved useful for both PSC and non-PSC patients.CONCLUSION: SpyGlassTM imaging can be recom-mended for proper inflammatory diagnosis in PSC pa-tients. However, its value in diagnosing dysplasia wasnot addressed in this study and requires further investi-gation.     

腹腔镜联合胆道镜在重症急性胰腺炎继发胰腺脓肿中的应用

目的:探讨腹腔镜、胆道镜联合应用在重症急性胰腺炎继发胰腺脓肿中的临床应用价值.方法:回顾性分析我院2000-06/2011-06随机使用腹腔镜、胆道镜联合及开腹手术治疗重症急性胰腺炎继发胰腺脓肿的38例患者,包括一般资料、手术时间、术中出血量、术后肠道功能恢复时间、术后白细胞、肝功能变化、术后并发症、死亡率、住院时间、住院费用等.结果:腹腔镜、胆道镜联合治疗组和开腹组在患者组成、手术时间、住院时间、死亡率等方面无统计学差异,治疗组在术中失血量(108.2 mL±18.1 mLvs 137.4 mL±25.2 mL)、术后肠道恢复时间(26.8 h±9.7 h vs 31 h±10.1 h)、术后肝功能变化(碱性磷酸酶:76.7U/L±12.6 U/L vs 83.2 U/L±13.6 U/L;谷氨酰转肽酶计数:60.3 U/L±14.1 U/L vs 67.1 U/L±13.8 U/L)、术后并发症(19.0%vs 41.2%)、住院费用(49.3千元±0.9千元vs 43.2千元±0.6千元)上与对照组差异显著(P<0.05).结论:腹腔镜、胆道镜联合治疗重症急性胰腺炎继发胰腺脓肿安全可靠、更加合理,有一定临床意义,但其费用较高,手术时间及住院时间稍长,需加以改进.     

Endobiliary biopsy

The differential diagnosis between benign and malignant biliary strictures is challenging and requires a multidisciplinary approach with the use of serum biomarkers, imaging techniques, and several modalities of endoscopic or percutaneous tissue sampling. The diagnosis of biliary strictures consists of laboratory markers, and invasive and non-invasive imaging examinations such as computed tomography (CT), contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). Nevertheless, invasive imaging modalities combined with tissue sampling are usually required to confirm the diagnosis of suspected malignant biliary strictures, while pathological diagnosis is mandatory to decide the optimal therapeutic strategy. Although EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy is currently the standard procedure for tissue sampling of solid pancreatic mass lesions, its diagnostic value in intraductal infiltrating type of cholangiocarcinoma remains limited. Moreover, the “endobiliary approach” using novel slim biopsy forceps, transpapillary and percutaneous cholangioscopy, and intraductal ultrasound-guided biopsy, is gaining ground on traditional endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography endobiliary forceps biopsy. This review focuses on the available endobiliary techniques currently used to perform biliary strictures biopsy, comparing the diagnostic performance of endoscopic and percutaneous approaches.     

Post-liver transplant biliary complications: Current knowledge and therapeutic advances

Liver transplantation is the current standard of care for end-stage liver disease and an accepted therapeutic option for acute liver failure and primary liver tumors.Despite the remarkable advances in the surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapy,the postoperative morbidity and mortality still remain high and the leading causes are biliary complications,which affect up to one quarter of recipients.The most common biliary complications are anastomotic and non-anastomotic biliary strictures,leaks,bile duct stones,sludge and casts.Despite the absence of a recommended treatment algorithm many options are available,such as surgery,percutaneous techniques and interventional endoscopy.In the last few years,endoscopic techniques have widely replaced the more aggressive percutaneous and surgical approaches.Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography is the preferred technique when duct-to-duct anastomosis has been performed.Recently,new devices and techniques have been developed and this has led to a remarkable increase in the success rate of minimally invasive procedures.Understanding the mechanisms of biliary complications helps in their early recognition which is the prerequisite for successful treatment.Aggressive endoscopic therapy is essential for the reduction of morbidity and mortality in these cases.This article focuses on the common post-transplant biliary complications and the available interventional treatment modalities.     

Advanced endoscopic imaging for biliary strictures: Review of current technologies

Conventional diagnostic techniques for indeterminate biliary strictures using endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatoscopy based ductal brushings and biopsy alone remains insensitive with inconsistent yields. There are multiple technologies, both established and novel, including peroral cholangioscopy, endoscopic and intraductal ultrasound, probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy, and volumetric laser endomicroscopy with evolving data to support their use in the workup of indeterminate biliary strictures. Implementation of such technologies remains hindered by steep operator learning curves, device cost, and a dirth of comparative literature to support evidence based practice using one device over the other or adjunctively with the current gold standard of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatoscopy. In this review, we focus on the aforementioned modalities, their technical specifications and operator considerations, and the available literature for use in evaluating indeterminate biliary strictures.     

经胆道镜钬激光碎石治疗肝内胆管难取性结石

目的：探讨经胆道镜结合钬激光治疗肝内难取性结石的方法和安全性。方法：回顾性总结12例肝内胆管难取性结石的锹激光治疗资料。结果：结石最大者1.6cm，最小者0.8cm，经1-2次激光碎石治疗，全部治愈，未出现明显并发症。结论：钬激光碎石术是目前治疗肝内胆管难取性结石的一种安全，有效的理想新技术。     

Intraductal ultrasonography for evaluating the patency of biliary metallic stents: correlation with cholangioscopic findings

Background: This is the first study to correlate intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) with cholangioscopy in evaluating the patency of biliary metallic stents. Methods: The findings of IDUS (probe 2.0 mm in diameter and 20-MHz frequency) through a percutaneous transhepatic (n = 24) or transpapillary (n = 2) approach were retrospectively reviewed without other information. Criteria for IDUS are as follows: type 1, the inside of the stent is free; type 2, the inner edge is smooth; type 3, the inner edge is irregular; type 4, the inside of the stent is totally occupied; type 5, the solid echo is connected to the outside mass; type 2+D, a hypoechoic line is seen between the bile duct wall and the inside solid component and the inner edge of the bile duct wall is smooth; type 3+D, an irregular hypoechoic line is seen between the bile duct wall and the inside solid component. Results: In the control group (n = 11), IDUS showed type 1 (n = 9) or type 2 (n = 2). In the occluded group (n = 15), when IDUS showed type 3 or 5, the patients (n= 5) required additional stents (n = 3), microwave coagulation of the tumor (n= 1), or transient external drainage (n= 1). When IDUS showed type 4 (n = 5), after washing, the findings changed to type 2+D (n = 4). When IDUS after washing showed a smooth inner edge (type 2+D), the patients were treated without additional stents more frequently than the other groups (eight of nine vs. two of six), a significant distinction (p < 0.05). Conclusion: IDUS is useful in assessing the patency of metallic stents. When the inside of the stent is totally occupied, however, examination after washing is necessary. Received: 19 May 2000/Accepted: 28 June 2000