ERCP done wrong

[marele01]

I had an ERCP with manometry because of SOD.  The doctor put a stent in my pancreatic duct.  Because of the preasures that built up in my stomach from the manometry my bile duct tore.  Should I have had a stent put in my bile duct so this wouldn't have happened?  Prior to this I had 2 sphincterotomies of my bile duct because of my bile duct narrowing.  Can scar tissue form in the future because of what happened?  Will I have ongoing problems because of this?  After each procedure I also got pancreatitis.  Because of this and a history of pancreatic cancer does this increase my chances of pancreatic cancer?  Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreaciated.

[CalGal]

Stents can come out on their own, but it should be followed to make sure the problem it was inserted for is corrected and the stent is 'gone.'

[dpmbrown]

We were told that the bile duct stent that was placed in bile duct may come out on it's own. Is this true and does the stent still have to be surgically removed?

[marele01]

My ERCP was done by a GI doctor who practiced out of St. John Hospital in Detroit.  I will never go back to him or the hospital!  He did put a stent in my pacreatic duct but did not put one in my bile duct.  So you think he should have put a stent in both ducts?  Once I was admitted through the emergancy room at a different hospital and found a new doctor who was highly recommended by another GI doctor at a different hospital he did put a stent in my bile duct to close the tare and took the stent out of my pacreatic duct.  After my bile duct healed (6 weeks), my stent was removed.  

Because of non-sterile instrumentation I also got an infection, several different bacteria's, 2 staph bacterias.  I am very lucky!!  The abcess was huge but I am better know other than being on 2 different medications because of problems related to what happened.
I have been told that once you have more than 2 pancreatitis attacks it raises your risk for pancreatic cancer.  Not to mention a close family member die from this which puts me at a bigger risk.  I did not know there were pancreatic specialists in GI.

Are you in the medical field?  I am uncertain about future problems I could have because of all the adhesions from the infection and the scar tissue from my bile duct.  Each day is a blessing!

[ohiogirl]

Where did you have your procedures done?  If I were you, I woudl run, not walk, to the nearest nationally known pancreas/ERCP centers which would be Indiana University, University of Minnesota or the Medical Center at South Carolina.  I know these places to have the most experienced doctors anywhere.

I have known many people to have problems with ERCP and pancreatitis following - unfortunately, its a high risk.  Also, ERCP is rarely a permament cure.  Scar tissue can form following sphincterotomies, that is one of the main reasons the SO closes back up so quickly.  The doc should have placed temporary stents in your bilary duct following the ERCPs that would have come out on their own - did you have that?

I'm not sure about the link to Pancreatic Cancer - I don't think that getting Pancreatits is linked to cancer as they present so incredibly differently, but I can't be sure.  I would try to get into a Pancreatic Specialist GI.

Unfortunately with these conditions (Panc and SOD) many doctors don't know what they are doing, or they think they are experienced when they aren't nearly as experienced as they need to be to be affective.  GI's need to have performed literally thousands of ERCPs to be considered an expert, so if you think you may not be in the right hands for the future, I would consider trying to get into different treatment.

Good luck!