title: Endoscopic management of benign and malignant biliary strictures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is now possible to manage most extrahepatic bile duct strictures, benign or malignant, using endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with endoscopic dilatation and stenting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Over a 5-year period we treated 218 patients with strictures of extrahepatic bile ducts. Eighty-six patients had benign biliary stricture. Endoscopic treatment was performed in 67 (78%) of these patients. Open surgical biliary drainage was preferred in 12 patients (14%), and 7 patients (8%) were managed conservatively without stenting or surgery. One hundred and thirty-two patients had malignant biliary stricture. One hundred and one patients (77%) underwent endoscopic stent placement. Thirty-one patients (23%) underwent surgery for potential curative resection after diagnostic ERCP. The average life span in the malignant stricture group was 5 months (range 0.1 to 25 months) after the initial endoscopic procedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Altogether 313 endoscopic procedures in 218 patients were performed for benign and malignant bile duct strictures. Complications included hemorrhage in 8 (3%), pancreatitis in 10 (3%), and suspected retroperitoneal perforation in 2 (0.6%). There were no ERCP related deaths; one patient died of uncontrolled bleeding from transhepatic stenting. In benign strictures, there has been no recurrence of strictures after the last stent removal with a mean followup of 21 months (range 0.1 to 31 months). All complications were successfully treated conservatively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Endoscopic management of benign and malignant biliary stricture is possible with minimal morbidity and mortality and should be considered an acceptable option to surgical management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, School of Medicine, Kentucky 40292, USA.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wieman
mesh_terms: D001649:Bile Duct Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D017734:Bile Ducts, Extrahepatic / Q000601:surgery*; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016717:Sphincterotomy, Endoscopic; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome