Modified transprepancreatic septotomy reduces postoperative complications after intractable biliary access

This study aimed to assess the clinical value of transprepancreatic septotomy indwelling guide wire or pancreatic duct stent in intractable endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for bile duct cannulation. Of the 2107 patients treated by ERCP, a total of 81 cases with difficult bile duct cannulation underwent transprebiliopancreatic septotomy (referred to as the septotomy group, 37 cases) and transprepancreatic septotomy with pancreatic duct stent (modified septotomy group, 44 cases). Success rates of cannulation and postoperative complications for both methods were compared. Among them, 77 cases were successfully administered bile duct cannulation. The success rates of the septotomy and modified septotomy groups were 91.89% and 97.73%, respectively, with no significant difference (P = .489). Of the 77 patients, 12 cases had complications. The septotomy group included 7 acute pancreatitis, 1 bleeding, and 1 biliary tract infection cases; while in the modified septotomy group, there were 1 acute pancreatitis, 1 bleeding, and 1 biliary tract infection cases. The occurrence rate of acute pancreatitis in the modified septotomy group was lower than that of the septotomy group (2.33% vs 20.59%) with a significant difference (P = .026). These findings indicate that transprepancreatic septotomy with pancreatic duct stent seems to be a safe and feasible operation with reducing complication rates.