Management of anastomotic biliary stricture through utilizing percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy

AIM Occurrence of anastomotic biliary stricture (AS) remains an essential issue following hepatobiliary surgeries, and percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy (PTCS) has great therapeutic significance in handling refractory AS for patients with altered gastrointestinal anatomy after cholangiojejunostomy. This present study aimed to investigate feasibility of PTCS procedures in AS patients for therapeutic indications. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was a single-center, retrospective cohort study with a total number of 124 consecutive patients who received therapeutic PTCS due to AS. Clinical success rate, required number and adverse events of therapeutic PTCS procedures as well as patients survival state were reviewed. RESULTS These 124 patients previously underwent choledochojejunostomy or hepatico-jejunostomy, and there was post-surgical altered gastrointestinal anatomy. Overall, 366 therapeutic PTCS procedures were performed for these patients through applying rigid choledochoscope, and the median time of PTCS procedures was 3 (1-11). Among these patients, there were 34 cases (27.32%) accompanied by biliary strictures and 100 cases (80.65%) were also combined with biliary calculi. After therapeutic PTCS, most patients presented with relieved clinical manifestations and improved liver functions. The median time of follow-up was 26 months (2-86 months), and AS was successfully managed through PTCS procedures in 104 patients (83.87%). During the follow-up period, adverse events occurred in 81 cases (65.32%), most of which were tackled through supportive treatment. CONCLUSION PTCS was a feasible, safe and effective therapeutic modality for refractory AS, which may be a promising alternative approach in clinical cases where the gastrointestinal anatomy was changed after cholangiojejunostomy.