Biliary stenting in difficult common bile duct stones: a single tertiary center experience.

BACKGROUND/AIM We aimed to examine the effect of plastic biliary stenting in the treatment of common bile duct (CBD) stones. MATERIALS AND METHODS The data of 13,034 patients in our unit who had endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) between 2008 and 2015 were scanned retrospectively. RESULTS A biliary stent was placed in 61 of 74 patients. While the plastic biliary stent was placed in patients, the mean stone size after the 1st ERCP was 20 mm and the bile duct size was 13 mm. At the time of the 2nd ERCP conducted approximately 73.9 days later, the mean stone size was found to be 15 mm and the bile duct size was 12 mm. With recurrent ERCPs, the CBD stone was successfully removed in 53 patients but could not be removed in 8 patients. Among the 53 successful cases, 29 removals were successful in the 2nd ERCP session, 16 were successful in the 3rd session, 2 were successful in the 4th session, 1 was successful in the 5th session, 4 were successful in the 6th session, and 1 was successful in the 7th session. CONCLUSION For CBD stones that cannot be removed by standard methods, temporary plastic stenting is an alternative method.