Intra-ductal stents in live donor liver transplantation increases the risk of biliary leaks.

In this recent RCT by Kumar et al the use of intra-ductal (trans-anastomotic) stents in live donor liver transplantation increased the risk of biliary leaks (36% versus 12%). The authors found that bile leak was also associated with an increased risk of biliary stricture. The authors speculated that the reason for the increased risk of bile leak with stents was due to trauma caused during stent insertion. Any thoughts?

This study is in the Transplant Library and December 2017 Transplant Trial Watch

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