Biodegradable Biliary Stents for Bile Leaks: Can We Skip the Second ERCP?

In most centers, biliary leaks that follow cholecystectomy are treated via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy, stent placement, or both. This approach changes the pressure gradient within the biliary tree, so that bile preferentially flows out of the biliary tree and into the duodenum (and not from the leak site, where it can collect in the abdomen). Placement of a plastic stent is the most common treatment. Patients with postcholecystectomy bile leaks usually need a second ERCP to evaluate the ducts for leak closure and for stent removal. Investigators evaluated a new biodegradable self-expanding stent to see if it obviated the need for the second ERCP.

Of 32 patients, 8 were treated with the biodegrad…