Duct to pancreas has narrowed: Need a stent

Yes--my aunt had something similar. In her case, her tumor was pushing on the bile duct and blocking it. She got jaundice as a result.

The first attempt to do a biopsy and put in a stent failed--in part because she wasn't at a place that had a lot of experience working with the pancreas. The wound up giving her a drain instead (which is not ideal. It is prone to infection and drains down the leg into a bag, which was a nuisance to deal with. The drain tube was also too narrow, so it didn't drain enough bile out of her system.).

She transferred her care to one of the Pancreatic Centers of Excellence, and they were able to replace the drain with a much wider stent. It's working great so far. Her jaundice is much improved and she's feeling better.

Yes ,I had 2 different stents put in due to blocked bile duct.First one was temporary,not sure why ,and 2nd one is permanent.No problems with either one.

I had a metal stent put in yesterday. I have pancreatic cancer but no tumor was near the duct and they could not see what was causing narrowing. The oncologist said could be inflamed lymph node but does not know. The GI guy that put the stent in said likely tumor but he was in a hurry to get the procedure done and he could have not said for sure as the imaging and scope did not show tumor. Also he put in metal stent nickel titanium alloy and never asked me about nickel allergy etc. I am not pleased with his bedside manner of hurry scurry and get the surgery done but no problem from procedure with it being day 2. Can a metal stent be removed if no problems are identified with the head of the pancreas as my tumor is in the tail. I am afraid of other problems arising from messing with the head of pancreas since I do not have the blood sugar issues or creon needs. Anyone know more about the concerns/metal stent

AlsoHow did they find scarring in the duct. My mrcp could not find any reason for narrowing after spending a long hour in the loud mri machine and getting some reaction to the dye. The narrowing was already seen on the ultrasound amd the mrcp did not help with any further info

My sister had jaundice as her initial condition leading to diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Location was easily confirmed as being near the bile duct - and needle biopsy confirmed the cancer. Plastic stent was installed initially during ER admission, then replaced with metal stent a few days later. Plastic tends to allow accumulation of bile duct materials, so metal is the longer term solution. The metallurgical content may be required to keep the stent from getting blocked.

How are you doing having the stent in place? What is your diet in recovery. Good luck and thank you

I have found a lot of relief after the metal stent was put in. They first put in a plastic one that failed and had to put in a metal one. I was told they tried the plastic first because Mayo needed to do the surgery on my pancreatic tumor and the metal stent is permanent.

I am still npo for 24 hours post op. I had some stuff in my throat had to keep clearing my throat a lot. I feel sore spots in my mouth and see a cut on my lip. Unsure what happened as I was given general anaesthesia and the surgeon left before I was completely awake. He just talked to my husband. Wondering how they found scar tissue on your duct. What imaging?

I had an mri, they tried to put stent in down my throat but couldn’t get to it. Going to have surgery Tuesday to put one in. See surgeon Monday to go over procedure. How can you go 24 hours with no food?

When my PC was biopsied during EUS/ERCP, the surgeon inserted a Boston Scientific "Wallflex" series metal stent to relieve the blockage in my common bile duct and the jaundice/itching it was causing.

Make sure you get an implant card from the surgeon describing exactly what make/model of stent you have, and specifically its MRI compatibility. I didn't get that from my surgeon, and Boston Scientific was absolutely horrible in their multiple failures to help me when I needed that info before an MRI.

With that said, I don't know if any of these stents are considered permanent or require maintenance / replacement. I got the impression mine was mainly a 1-year stop-gap until the Whipple. I could see replacement being difficult if tissue grows around it or becomes attached to it. And go easy on your new stent for a few weeks to prevent infection!