Background: Non-anastomotic biliary strictures (NAS) are a common cause of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation.
Methods: All patients with NAS from 2008 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The success rate and overall mortality of an ERCP-based stent program (EBSP) were the primary outcomes.
Results: A total of 40 (13.9%) patients with NAS were identified, of which 35 patients were further treated in an EBSP. Furthermore, 16 (46%) patients terminated EBSP successfully, and nine (26%) patients died during the program. All deaths were caused by cholangitis. Of those, one (11%) patient had an extrahepatic stricture, while the other eight patients had either intrahepatic (3, 33%) or combined extra- and intrahepatic strictures (5, 56%). Risk factors of overall mortality were age (p = 0.03), bilirubin (p < 0.0001), alanine transaminase (p = 0.006), and aspartate transaminase (p = 0.0003). The median duration of the stent program was 34 months (ITBL: 36 months; IBL: 10 months), and procedural complications were rare.
Conclusions: EBSP is safe, but lengthy and successful in only about half the patients. Intrahepatic strictures were associated with an increased risk of cholangitis.
Keywords: balloon dilatation; endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; endoscopy; ischemic-type biliary lesion; stenting.