LAUSR

Background Biliary complications occur in 6% to 34% of liver transplant recipients, for which endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography has become widely accepted as the first-line therapy. We evaluated long-term outcome of biliary complications in patients liver transplanted between 2004 and 2014 at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm. Methods Data were retrospectively collected, radiological images were analyzed for type of biliary complication, and graft and patient survivals were calculated. Results In 110 (18.5%) of 596 transplantations, there were a total of 153 cases of biliary complications: 68 (44.4%) anastomotic strictures, 43 (28.1%) nonanastomotic strictures, 24 (15.7%) bile leaks, 11 (7.2%) cases of stone- and/or sludge-related problems, and 7 (4.6%) cases of mixed biliary complications. Treatment success rates for each complication were 90%, 73%, 100%, 82% and 80%, respectively. When the endoscopic approach was unsatisfactory or failed, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography or a combination of treatments was often successful (in 18 of 24 cases). No procedure-related mortality was observed. Procedure-related complications were reported in 7.7% of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and 3.8% of percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography procedures. Patient survival rates, 1, 3, 5, and 10 years posttransplant in patients with biliary complications were 92.7%, 80%, 74.7%, and 54.1%, respectively, compared with 92%, 86.6%, 83.7%, and 72.8% in patients free from biliary complications (P < 0.01). Similarly, long-term graft survival was lower in the group experiencing biliary complications (P < 0.0001). Conclusions Endoscopic and percutaneous approaches for treating biliary complications are safe and efficient and should be considered complementing techniques. Despite a high treatment success rate of biliary complications, their occurrence still has a significant negative impact on patient and graft long-term survivals.