Biliary stent endoprosthesis: analysis of complications in 113 patients.

Stent endoprosthesis has been advocated as an alternative to internal-external catheter drainage for decompression of biliary obstruction, but drawbacks have never been specifically analyzed, to our knowledge. A retrospective review of 118 biliary stent endoprostheses placed in 113 patients assessed the frequency, nature, and treatability of significant complications. Complications were categorized as early (morbidity or mortality within the first 30 days) or late (after 30 days). The early complication rate was 17% (19/113); the late complication rate, 31% (32/102). Early complications were most often due to unstable stent positioning in technically difficult procedures involving periportal obstruction (4/8), while the most common late problems were lumen occlusion (23/102 [23%]), migrations (6/102 [6%]), and tumor overgrowth of the stent (3/102 [3%]). Neither the histologic features nor the location of the primary tumor correlated with the potential for long-term stent dysfunction. Specific treatment of complications was carried out in 17 of 102 patients (17%) and almost invariably required readmission and remanipulation or de novo biliary drainage.