Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 7, 2012; 18(41): 5957-5964
Published online Nov 7, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i41.5957
Comparative study of rendezvous techniques in post-liver transplant biliary stricture
Jae Hyuck Chang, In Seok Lee, Ho Jong Chun, Jong Young Choi, Seung Kyoo Yoon, Dong Goo Kim, Young Kyoung You, Myung-Gyu Choi, Sok Won Han
Jae Hyuck Chang, In Seok Lee, Jong Young Choi, Seung Kyoo Yoon, Myung-Gyu Choi, Sok Won Han, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701, South Korea
Ho Jong Chun, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701, South Korea
Dong Goo Kim, Young Kyoung You, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701, South Korea
Author contributions: Chang JH and Lee IS designed the study, performed the procedures, and analyzed the dada; Chun HJ performed the procedures; Kim DG and You YK performed the surgery and contributed materials; Yoon SK, Choi JY, Choi MG, and Han SW contributed materials and revised the manuscript; and Chang JH and Lee IS wrote the manuscript.
Correspondence to: In Seok Lee, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, 505, Banpo-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137-701, South Korea. isle@catholic.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-2-22582083 Fax: +82-2-22582089
Received: March 6, 2012
Revised: May 2, 2012
Accepted: May 5, 2012
Published online: November 7, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the usefulness of a new rendezvous technique for placing stents using the Kumpe (KMP) catheter in angulated or twisted biliary strictures.

METHODS: The rendezvous technique was performed in patients with a biliary stricture after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) who required the exchange of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage catheters for inside stents. The rendezvous technique was performed using a guidewire in 19 patients (guidewire group) and using a KMP catheter in another 19 (KMP catheter group). We compared the two groups retrospectively.

RESULTS: The baseline characteristics did not differ between the groups. The success rate for placing inside stents was 100% in both groups. A KMP catheter was easier to manipulate than a guidewire. The mean procedure time in the KMP catheter group (1012 s, range: 301-2006 s) was shorter than that in the guidewire group (2037 s, range: 251-6758 s, P = 0.022). The cumulative probabilities corresponding to the procedure time of the two groups were significantly different (P = 0.008). The factors related to procedure time were the rendezvous technique method, the number of inside stents, the operator, and balloon dilation of the stricture (P < 0.05). In a multivariate analysis, the rendezvous technique method was the only significant factor related to procedure time (P = 0.010). The procedural complications observed included one case of mild acute pancreatitis and one case of acute cholangitis in the guidewire group, and two cases of mild acute pancreatitis in the KMP catheter group.

CONCLUSION: The rendezvous technique involving use of the KMP catheter was a fast and safe method for placing inside stents in patients with LDLT biliary stricture that represents a viable alternative to the guidewire rendezvous technique.

Keywords: Rendezvous, Biliary stricture, Liver transplantation, Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage