A Rare Case of Small Bowel Obstruction due to Migration of a Percutaneous Biliary Stent.

Biliary endoprostheses are widely used in the treatment of biliary lithiasis, malignant and benign strictures, and occasionally in long-lasting biliary fistulas. They can be placed endoscopically during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and radiologically (percutaneous) when the endoscopic route is not feasible. Complications associated with the endoscopic placement of biliary endoprostheses are well described in the literature, with migration being the most common. Intestinal obstruction is a rare complication associated with the migration of these devices. There are no reports in the literature of this complication occurring after percutaneous placement. We present a case of a patient who arrived at the emergency department with ileal obstruction secondary to the migration and concurrent embedding of a covered stent placed radiologically to treat a biliary leak after surgery. The patient underwent diagnostic laparoscopic and ileal resection, revealing a lithiasic concretion at the tip of the stent, causing the small bowel obstruction.

Pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma: which patients benefit from surgical resection?

BACKGROUND: Pancreas is a possible site of metastases from renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The aim of this study was to define the role of surgery in their treatment. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 36 patients with pancreatic metastasis from RCC observed between January 1998 and February 2006. Patients were categorized into three risk groups according to the modified Memorial Sloan-Kettering prognostic factors model. RESULTS: Resective surgery was performed in 23 patients, as follows: 11 distal pancreatectomy, 5 enucleation, 4 pancreatoduodenectomy, 2 total pancreatectomy, and 1 middle pancreatectomy. No perioperative mortality was observed; the morbidity rate was 47.8%. All patients who underwent resection belonged to the favorable risk group. Surgical resection was excluded in 13 cases because of locally advanced disease (2 cases) or extrapancreatic disease (11 cases); 5 of these patients were at favorable, 7 at intermediate, and 1 at poor risk. In patients undergoing surgery, the 5-year actuarial survival rate was 88%, and median disease-free survival was 44 months. Patients who did not undergo surgery had a 5-year survival rate of 47%, with a median survival time of 27 months (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with pancreatic metastases from RCC belonging to a favorable risk group are candidates for resection, even in the presence of another metastatic site or multifocal pancreatic disease.