Efficacy and safety of EUS-guided hepaticoesophagostomy (EUS-HES) for malignant biliary obstruction: the first case series

Background EUS-guided hepaticoesophagostomy (EUS-HES) was reported as an alternative procedure when puncture through the esophagus was inevitable. However, the existing data is very limited. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EUS-HES in patients with difficult malignant biliary obstruction. Methods All cases who underwent EUS-HES at our institute were retrospectively reviewed. Results A total of 11 patients underwent EUS-HES from January 2011 to December 2017. Five were male, and the mean age was 57.9 ± 6.3 years. The majority of the patients (8 out of 11 patients) had a biliary obstruction caused by cholangiocarcinoma. The technical success was 100%. The mean procedure time was 73.2 ± 37.6 min. The main reason for EUS-HES was the improper alignment of the bile duct due to left lobe hypertrophy. The clinical success was 90.9%. The mean overall survival was 97.8 ± 68.5 days. No major procedure-related complication, particularly pneumomediastinum, occurred. Conclusions EUS-HES is a technically feasible and safe procedure to provide biliary drainage, especially in patients with left hepatic lobe hypertrophy. Using a bougie dilator instead of balloon dilation can avoid previously reported complications.