Table 1.
Characteristics of patients
| Total | Stent removal | Stent trimming | |
| No. patients | 27 | 19 | 81 |
| Sex (male/female) | 17/10 | 13/6 | 4/41 |
| Mean age, yr, (range) | 68.1 (43-91) | 66.9 (43-91) | 70.9 (54-90) |
| Etiology of biliary strictures | |||
| Pancreatic carcinoma | 17 | 12 | 5 |
| Biliary ductal carcinoma | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| IPMC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lymph node metastasis2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Chronic pancreatitis | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| MFP | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| AIP | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Type of SEMS | |||
| Uncovered Wallstent | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Covered SEMS | 25 | 18 | 7 |
| Covered Wallstent (Partially covered type) | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Niti-S Biliary ComVi Stent (Partially covered type) | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Niti-S Biliary ComVi Stent (Fully covered type) | 14 | 11 | 3 |
| Niti-S Biliary Covered Stent with removal suture | 2 | 2 | 0 |
1
Including 3 cases with impossible stent removal;
2
Due to cancer of the uterine body. IPMC: Intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma; MFP: Mass-forming pancreatitis; AIP: Autoimmune pancreatitis; SEMS: Self-expandable metallic stent.