A Randomized Controlled Prospective Study to Compare the Incidence of Biliary Complications After Liver Transplantation

The risk of biliary complications can be related to the type of liver transplant performed and the technique used for reconstruction of the bile duct. One of the main techniques of performing biliary reconstruction is a choledocholedochostomy which can be performed over an anastomotic stent. Although placement of biliary stents is routine practice in many liver transplant centers around the country, there is no clear evidence to support their use. As of now both the placement and non-placement of a stent are essentially "standard of care". In the investigators' center, many of the transplant surgeons now perform the biliary anastomosis over a pediatric feeding tube which is used as a stent. The practice of using stents in biliary anastomosis is not uniform and there are no established guidelines to support their indiscriminate application. The investigators have designed a prospective randomized trial to evaluate the effect of stent placement on biliary complications and its effect on morbidity.