ABSTRACT
Purpose Stricture formation at the biliary enteric anastomotic site is a common complication due to fibrotic healing. Few therapeutic options are available for biliary-enteric anastomotic site stricture (BES) including new surgical reconstruction or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage followed by balloon dilation of BES or stent placement. The purpose of this study is to assess the technical success, complications and reintervention rate of percutaneous transhepatic balloon dilatation (PTBD) of BES after iatrogenic bile duct injuries (BDI). Methods A retrospective review of patients who underwent PTBD for benign resistant BES, previously treated for iatrogenic BDI, from December 2004 to January 2016 was performed. Diagnostic transhepatic cholangiogram was performed to assess the level of obstruction. BES was dilated using 8-12 mm diameter balloons followed by placement of eight to ten Fr internal-external drainage catheters, which were removed after three to six weeks post-PTBD cholangiogram. Follow-up by clinical assessment, liver function tests, and ultrasound was done. Fischer exact test was used to determine if there was a significant association between PTBD sessions and recurrent strictures. Results In total, 37 patients underwent 66 sessions of PTBD, including 10 (27%) males and 27 (73%) females. The mean age was 41.3 years (range 23-70 years). Out of these, 29 (78%) were treated with choledochojejunostomy and eight (22%) with hepaticojejunostomy. 100% technical success was achieved in all the PTBD sessions. Nineteen (51.3%) patients were treated with a single PTBD session. Mean follow-up time was 36 months (range 1-75 months). Eighteen (48.7%) patients needed reintervention, out of these, 11 (29.7%) were symptom-free after second session on three-year follow-up, three (8%) were symptom-free after the third session of PTBD. No significant difference was observed in risk of recurrent strictures after first and second PTBD sessions [18 (48%) vs. 7 (39%); p-value 0.495]. In four (11%) patients, the symptoms persisted and BES recurred even after third session and those were treated by placing metallic stent. In total, three (8.1%) patients got complicated with the stone formation; in two (5%) patients stone was successfully removed percutaneously and in one (3%) patient percutaneous attempt failed so it was followed by surgical removal. Conclusion PTBD is a safe and useful treatment option for benign BES for long-term symptom-free time-period. However, there is no significant difference in developing recurrent BES after PTBD sessions. Few patients with resistant strictures might require stent placement.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to review the results of pelvic arterial embolization (PAE) performed in the interventional radiology suite. METHOD: The data of all patients in whom pelvic angioembolization was performed was collected from July 2011 to June 2017. Procedures were performed by an experienced interventional radiologist. The clinical and laboratory data, as well as the outcome data, were obtained from the medical records of our hospital. The following parameters were collected for each patient, including the age, gender, presenting symptoms, site of bleeding, catheters used for embolization, material used for embolization, previous computed tomography (CT) scan and/or focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) ultrasound, average hemoglobin before the procedure, and patient clinical status on discharge. RESULT: A total of 37 patients underwent pelvic angiography for acute hemorrhage at our institution. They had contrast blush, active extravasation, or abnormal vascularity from the branches of the internal iliac artery and underwent therapeutic transcatheter embolization. A total of 29 patients (78.3%) were male and 8 (21.7%) were female. The average age was 30.0 years (range: 6-90 year). Of these, 16 patients (43.2%) presented with road traffic accidents (RTAs), six with gunshot injuries (16.2%), six with iatrogenic injuries (16.2%), four with a history of a fall (10.8%), two with bomb blast injuries (5.4%), one with a history of a glass injury (2.7%), one had a history of a roof falling on her during an earthquake, and one patient had a pelvic pseudoaneurysm secondary to an abscess. The type of embolic material used for embolization included coils in 16 patients, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles were used in eight patients, both PVA particles and coils were used in 11 patients, and glue was used in one patient. All were successfully embolized. Thirty-four were discharged while three patients expired during the course of hospital stay due to other coexisting morbidities. CONCLUSION: The management of pelvic injuries has always been a topic of debate, with multiple methods reported to date but growing evidence supports the use of pelvic arterial embolization in hemorrhagic pelvic injuries. The formulation of a standardized protocol is the need of the day.
