[Treatment with endoscopic endoprosthesis in choledocholithiasis].

The results of the placement of endoscopic endoprosthesis in 51 patients with choledocholithiasis from October 1991 to December 1995 are reviewed. In 13 cases the endoprosthesis was provisionally placed. Surgical or endoscopic treatment was electively completed in all the cases. Thirty-eight patients received the endoprosthesis on a permanent basis. During the follow up (mean 15.2 months) extraction was completed and the prosthesis removed in three cases, one by emigration. Six patients presented recurrent biliary obstruction and underwent surgery or replacement of another prosthesis. In the latter cases, another two underwent surgery due to repeated obstructions. The remaining patients remained asymptomatic until the end of follow up or until death (8 cases) due to unrelated causes. Only three mild episodes of cholangitis were observed as complications related to prosthesis placement. The authors conclude that endoscopic endoprosthesis is an effective provisional treatment to solve acute situations and is a permanent alternative for unextracted choledocholithiasis following sphincterotomy in patients who cannot undergo other techniques and who have a short life expectancy.