what next

I have had six ERCPS for blocked bile ducts.. I am 78 years old..have two stents in my bile ducts and just had lg stones and small ones removed for the second time in one year.. Is there a solution to this problem other than ERCPS every three months which I now have done.. only the last two ercps had stone.. I had gallbladder surgery 53 years ago at age 24.. had stones then and were in bile ducts? thank you for any information.


This discussion is related to Stone in bile duct (gallbladder already removed).

[CalGal]

Blondie, have you talked to your doc about using any form of med that might help you avoid GB stone formation? There are a couple of meds, but I'm not sure what all the parameters are as to who is able to take it and who is not.

Unfortunately there's not a lot that can be done that I know of other than sphincterotomy and stents to avoid the problem of ducts closing down. There are some calcium channel blockers that might be tried  which might be able to help if part of the issue is spasms, but there are some large down-side problems, so you'd have to be carefully monitored.

Are you working with a specialist in SOD (sphincter of Oddi dysfunction)? If not, you may want to consider it. You also might want to check into the SOD group on yahoo groups. There are larger numbers of people who are dealing with the issue on that board and they may have more info for you.