Published online Oct 16, 2021. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v13.i10.543
Peer-review started: March 30, 2021
First decision: June 25, 2021
Revised: July 10, 2021
Accepted: September 8, 2021
Article in press: September 8, 2021
Published online: October 16, 2021
Processing time: 197 Days and 17.6 Hours
Bowel perforation from biliary stent migration is a serious potential complication of biliary stents, but fortunately has an incidence of less than 1%.
We report a case of a 54-year-old Caucasian woman with a history of Human Immunodeficiency virus with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, alcoholic liver cirrhosis, portal vein thrombosis and extensive past surgical history who presented with acute abdominal pain and local peritonitis. On further evaluation she was diagnosed with small bowel perforation secondary to migrated biliary stents and underwent exploratory laparotomy with therapeutic intervention.
This case presentation reports on the unusual finding of two migrated biliary stents, with one causing perforation. In addition, we review the relevant literature on migrated stents.
Core Tip: Bowel perforation from biliary stent migration is a serious potential complication of biliary stents, but fortunately has an incidence of less than 1%. From this review of literature, we can see that most common types of migrated stents entailing bowel perforation are the plastic stents and the most common site of perforation is duodenum. A significant finding is the mortality after bowel perforation from biliary stent which is as high as 10.3%. The main treatment is surgical stent removal, but a growing body of literature shows that endoscopic removal and mucosal repair is feasible in select cases. This has still not been accomplished in the mid portion of the bowel.