A severe complication of the new self-expanding spiral nitinol biliary stent.

The new spiral nitinol biliary stent offers some very promising features, including its long patency and retrievability. We report here the case of a patient in whom this type of stent was inserted for palliative treatment of a periampullary tumour. The stent migrated distally, and could not be withdrawn. The further course was complicated by duodenal obstruction, repeated bouts of cholangitis, and fatal hemorrhage after surgical removal of the endoprosthesis. The design of this new stent should be improved.