I. Parzanese

Covered metal stents in endoscopic therapy of biliary complications after liver transplantation

There is growing interest in using covered self-expandable metal stents for the treatment of benign biliary conditions, and the presence of anastomotic biliary strictures and leaks after liver transplantation provide a valuable opportunity for testing them. The performance of the stents is encouraging, and the technical success rate is high. They provide larger diameter dilation and are easily removed, and can potentially limit costs by reducing the number of procedures needed to treat anastomotic biliary strictures. However, drawbacks such as sub-optimal tolerability and migration may affect both patient management and costs. New stent designs are currently being evaluated. Randomized controlled trials and cost-effectiveness analyses comparing covered metal stents with multiple plastic stent endotherapy are warranted in order to define the role of the former as first-line or rescue treatment.

Can biliary endoscopy play a role in liver disease associated to cystic fibrosis

a Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Universita degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy b Cystic Fibrosis Reference Center, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Universita degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy c Department of Pathology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Policlinico Milano, Universita degli Studi, Milan, Italy