EUS-guided hepaticoenterostomy with using a dedicated plastic stent for the benign pancreaticobiliary diseases: A single-center study of a large case series

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: EUS-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) has recently been used for the treatment of not only malignant pancreaticobiliary diseases, but also for benign diseases. In most previous studies, EUS-BD was performed using a fully covered self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS), and data focusing on the usability of plastic stents for benign diseases are limited. We previously developed a plastic stent dedicated to EUS-guided hepaticoenterostomy (EUS-HES), and achieved favorable results in a feasibility study, although most of the patients had malignant diseases. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the usability of dedicated plastic stents for EUS-HES in patients with benign pancreaticobiliary diseases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 57 consecutive patients (28 men, median age: 68 years; range: 7–90 years) of normal and surgically altered anatomy with benign pancreaticobiliary diseases who underwent EUS-HES using the dedicated plastic stent between Jan. 2015 and Jun. 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The overall technical success rate of EUS-HES was 92.9% (53/57). Among the 4 cases of technical failure of plastic stent placement, a SEMS was placed in 1; percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage was performed in 1; EUS-HES was reperformed 1 week later in 1; and observational management was selected in 1 patient. Adverse events associated with the procedure were seen in 15.7% (9/57) of the patients, namely, biliary peritonitis in 4, bleeding in 2, cholecystitis in 2, and pneumoperitoneum in 1 patient. Except for 1 patient who required blood transfusion owing to bleeding and 1 patient with cholecystitis who required percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage, the other 7 patients were treated by conservative therapy. There were no intervention-associated deaths. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that for patients with benign pancreaticobiliary diseases in whom conventional ERCP was unsuccessful, EUS-HES using a dedicated plastic stent was safe and feasible.