Intra-corporeal shockwave lithotripsy in the treatment of complex lithiasis of the bile ducts. Comparison of endoscopic techniques and long-term results

OBJECTIVES: About 2% of common bile duct stones and most intra-hepatic stones cannot be removed by conventional endoscopy. Intra-corporeal lithotripsy is an alternative technique for these patients. Contact lithotripsy can be obtained by a pulsed dye laser or by electro-hydraulic shockwaves. We compared and assessed the results of these two methods. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients (79 +/- 9.8 years, 25 women and 12 men) underwent laser lithotripsy (n = 21), electro-hydraulic lithotripsy (n = 9) or both methods consecutively (n = 7) for common bile duct stones (n = 31), intra-hepatic stones (n = 3) or diffuse lithiasis (n = 3). The mean diameter of the largest stone was 23 +/- 12 mm. Lithotripsy was performed by a retrograde approach in 35 cases and a combined, retrograde and transhepatic approach in 2 cases. RESULTS: The mean number of lithotripsy sessions was 1.5 +/- 0.65. The overall success rate (free bile ducts with patent drainage) was 95%. In 2 patients, stones were not fully extracted: one underwent surgery, the other one was treated conservatively with antibiotics. The duration of the hospital stay was 9.3 +/- 4.5 days. Morbidity at 30 days was 27% and only one case of major morbidity (hemorrhage after sphincterotomy, 2.7%) was observed. There were no procedure-related mortality. Electro-hydraulic and laser groups did not differ significantly for success rate, morbidity and time spent at hospital. Follow-up information was obtained in 34 patients (91.8%) a median of 17 months after lithotripsy (range: 4.52 months). Ten patients died of non-biliary diseases. Two patients (5.8%) developed biliary symptoms 24 and 34 months after lithotripsy, one after unsuccessful lithotripsy. CONCLUSION: Intra-corporeal lithotripsy is a valuable tool for the most complex cases of duct stones, and with an acceptable morbidity. The results of the two techniques are similar. Late biliary complications after intra-corporeal lithotripsy appear to be rare.