Can combined pancreatic-enteric anastomotic stenosis be treated in the distant post-Whipple period?

  Recently, the ERCP team led by Prof. Huang Yonghui successfully performed endoscopic treatment for a patient with pancreatic-enteric anastomotic stenosis with recurrent pancreatitis at a distant stage after Whipple surgery. The patient, Ms. Zhang, 36 years old, underwent Whipple surgery for solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreatic head 6 years ago. One year ago, she started to have recurrent left upper abdominal distension and discomfort with nausea and vomiting, and her blood amylase was significantly elevated at each visit. After admission, we considered that the patient had recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis after Whipple’s operation, and the imaging suggested that the pancreatic duct was widened throughout, so we considered the possibility of pancreatic-jejunal anastomotic stenosis. After full communication with the patient and family, ERCP under general anesthesia was performed. During the operation, it was found that the pancreatic-enteric anastomosis was completely occluded and a white scar was visible. After the operation, the patient gradually resumed eating and drinking and was discharged without any further episodes of acute pancreatitis at the present follow-up.  The occurrence of Whipple postoperative complication of distant pancreatic-enteric anastomotic stenosis is rare, with less than one hundred cases reported in the literature worldwide, and it is rare for this patient to develop pancreatic-enteric anastomotic stenosis with recurrent pancreatitis 5 years after surgery. The reason for the difficulty of this case is that the anatomical structure was changed after Whipple’s surgery and the intestinal collaterals were tortuous, so it was very difficult to find the pancreatic-intestinal anastomosis under endoscopy. The second reason for the difficulty is that it is very difficult to intubate the pancreatic duct under the endoscope when the pancreatic-intestinal anastomosis is completely occluded, and in this case, the pancreatic duct was successfully intubated after repeated attempts. The third place is the endoscopic treatment after finding a successful pancreatic-intestinal anastomosis cannulation. Endoscopic incision with a needle knife over the scarred and almost occluded anastomosis is very prone to perforation, but in this case, not only was the incision successful, but also the pancreatic duct stent was successfully placed to drain the pancreatic fluid. After the operation, the patient quickly resumed eating and drinking and was discharged with a significantly improved quality of life at follow-up. It is known that there is no successful precedent of ERCP in China for such patients.  In recent years, the ERCP team led by Professor Huang Yonghui of the Department of Gastroenterology has achieved superior results in difficult ERCP. Especially for patients after Billroth II type major gastrectomy, Whipple procedure, Roux-en-Y anastomosis and other complex surgical procedures, once combined with bile duct stones, acute cholangitis, recurrent acute pancreatitis and other biliopancreatic system diseases, the treatment is very difficult. The ERCP team of the Department of Gastroenterology has carried out minimally invasive treatment of complex post-surgical ERCP with colonoscopy, single or double balloon small intestine microscopy, and has carried out hundreds of cases with good treatment effect and little trauma to patients. Another advantage of this technology is that it can be repeatedly performed, saving patients the pain of multiple surgeries. The results achieved have been published in 2 SCI articles, 2 international and domestic conference poster, and invited to make conference presentations in domestic endoscopy academic conferences for many times, which have been highly recognized and paid attention by domestic and foreign colleagues.