Migration of an Endoscopic Double Pigtail Drain into the Abdominal Wall Placed as a Treatment of a Fistula Post Revisional Bariatric Surgery

A Primer and Literature Review on Internal and External Retention Mechanisms for Catheter Fixation

Although catheters are commonplace in hospital settings, there is scarce literature discussing the internal and external retention mechanisms used to aid in catheter fixation. Additionally, exact definitions and detailed information on internal and external retention mechanisms are almost non-existent in the literature. This article serves three primary purposes. The first purpose is to define internal and external catheter retention mechanisms, describe how they work, and provide examples of each that are routinely used in healthcare settings. The second goal of this paper is to provide a literature review comparing various aspects of the different types of internal and external catheter retention mechanisms discussed in the paper, including performance variance and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The third aim of this article is to provide a brief overview of catheter dislodgment, including the rates at which this occurs, the problems that can arise, and the best treatment option when this does occur.

Endoscopic Double-Pigtail Catheter (EDPC) Internal Drainage as First-Line Treatment of Gastric Leak: A Case Series during Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Learning Curve for Morbid Obesity

OBJECTIVES

The prevalence of morbid obesity has dramatically increased over the last several decades worldwide, currently reaching epidemic proportions. Gastric leak (GL) remains the potentially fatal main complication after sleeve gastrectomy (SG) for morbid obesity. To our knowledge, there are no standardized guidelines for GL treatment after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) yet. The aim of this study was to represent our institutional preliminary experience using the endoscopic double-pigtail catheter (EDPC) as the method of internal drainage and propose it as first-line treatment in case of GL after LSG.

METHODS

One hundred and seventeen patients were admitted to our surgical department and underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) for morbid obesity from March 2014 to June 2019. In 5 patients (4.3%) of our series, GL occurred as a complication of LSG. EPDC was the stand-alone procedure of internal drainage and GL first-line treatment. The internal pig tail was endoscopically removed from 30th to 40th POD in all cases.

RESULTS

Present data (clinical, biochemical, and instrumental tests) showed a complete resolution of GL, with promotion of a pseudodiverticula and complete re-epithelialization of leak. Follow-up was more strict than usual (clinical visit and biochemical test on 7th, 14th, and 21st day after discharge; a CT scan with gastrografin on 30th day from discharge if clinical visit and exams were normal).

CONCLUSION

This was a preliminary retrospective observational study, conducted on 5 patients affected by GL as a complication of LSG for morbid obesity. EDPC maintains the safety, efficacy, and nonexpensive characteristic and may be proposed as better first-line treatment in case of GL after bariatric surgery.

A Complication of an Endoscopic Pigtail Stent Migration into the Cavity during Deployment as a Treatment for Gastric Leak

Gastric leak following gastrointestinal surgery is the most dreadful complication, which implies long hospital stay, morbidities, and not irrelevant mortalities. There is no standard recommendation for treating postlaparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy leak, which makes its management challenging. Endoscopic internal drainage by double-pigtail drains currently became the recommended approach. Complications to this approach include bleeding, ulceration at the tip of the double-pigtail stent, and uncommon migration. Here, we report our experience with drain displacement into the cavity while deployment in a patient who experienced gastric leakage after undergoing sleeve gastrectomy.

Enteral stents in the management of post-bariatric surgery leaks

A post-bariatric surgery leak is a rare but grave condition and remains every bariatric surgeon's nightmare. Endoscopic therapy with the insertion of self-expandable stents provides an effective minimally invasive approach for the management of leaks. Self-expandable stents, however, are still hampered by their tendency for migration and are not always well tolerated. Recently, double-pigtail stents have been proposed as an alternative endoscopic therapeutic modality. Both types of stents have been shown to be very effective in the management of leaks; however, most studies have pooled gastrointestinal leaks due to different etiologies together. In this article, we review the current status and foreseen innovations in gastrointestinal stenting for post-bariatric surgery leaks.