Usefulness of cholangioscopy in patients with focal stricture of the intrahepatic duct unrelated to intrahepatic stones.

Background: Intrahepatic duct strictures are usually caused by intrahepatic duct stones and cholangitis. However, focal strictures of the intrahepatic duct unrelated to intrahepatic stones often pose diagnostic problems. This study was undertaken to prospectively evaluate the usefulness of percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy in patients with focal intrahepatic duct stricture and no evidence of a stone.

Methods: Seventeen patients with focal strictures of the intrahepatic duct without any evidence of a stone were included. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic examination including procurement of biopsy specimens was performed after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage.

Results: A histopathologic diagnosis was obtained in all patients (9 adenocarcinomas, 1 squamous cell carcinoma, 2 hepatocellular carcinomas, 2 adenomas, and 3 benign strictures). Of the 9 patients with bile duct adenocarcinoma, 8 underwent surgery and a curative resection was possible in 7 patients (88%). Five patients (63%) had early-stage bile duct cancer in which cancer invasion was limited to the mucosa or fibromuscular layer and there was no evidence of lymph node metastasis.

Conclusions: Percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy in patients with focal stricture of the intrahepatic duct unrelated to choledocholithiasis is useful for diagnosis including the detection of early bile duct cancer.