A case of a multiple bile duct stones associated with a biliary stent indwelled for 10 years

Endoscopic biliary stenting is widely used, but cases in which stent removal was forgotten and long-term stent placement was required were reported. The present case was a 42-year-old woman who underwent endoscopic stone removal for common bile duct stones and biliary plastic stent placement 10 years before. She self-interrupted her visit; thus, the stent was left in place. The patient developed acute cholangitis 10 years later and was urgently hospitalized. After removal of the stent, cholangiography revealed numerous stones filling the bile ducts. Complete stone extraction was performed endoscopically. This case demonstrates that long-term stent placement can cause multiple stone formation, and stents should always be removed when no longer necessary.