Novel Plastic Stent With an Integrated Delivery System for Endoscopic Transpapillary Gallbladder Stenting: A Preliminary Feasibility Study (With Video)

A novel plastic stent with an integrated delivery system specifically designed for endoscopic transpapillary gallbladder stenting (EGBS) was developed. The novel stent system comprises a stent body, an inner catheter, and a pushing catheter. The stent and pusher catheter are integrated, thereby making it possible to pull back the stent. Further, it fits the anatomical shape after placement in the gallbladder as it has a curved shape. The current study evaluated the feasibility and outcomes of EGBS using the novel stent. This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 24 consecutive patients who underwent EGBS using the novel stent between April 2023 and March 2025. The technical success rate of stent insertion was 95.8%. In the technically successful EGBS cases, the clinical success rate for acute cholecystitis was 94.7%. The early adverse event (AE) rate was 4.2%, with only one patient presenting with Mallory-Weiss syndrome. During a mean follow-up period of 211 days, the late AE rate in the 20 patients with permanent stent placement was 10%. The late AEs included acute pancreatitis (n = 1) and gallbladder perforation (n = 1). Acute pancreatitis improved with stent removal, and gallbladder perforation resolved with additional percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage. There were no cases of recurrent cholecystitis or stent migration during the follow-up period. In conclusion, the newly developed stent is feasible for EGBS and can achieve good clinical outcomes.