Common Bile Duct Stones After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Same Issue, Different Ways to Deal with

Background: Obesity is a complex chronic disease, which represents a severe and growing health issue all over the world. Bariatric surgery is an option when medical treatments failed. The average of complications is low. Common bile duct stones in a patient who underwent weight loss surgery, especially Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, one anastomosis gastric bypass, or duodenal switch, is challenging due to the difficult access to the biliary duct. Methods: We describe the different techniques we used to perform the treatment of common bile duct stones after a gastric bypass was performed. Results: The highlights of the different treatments to solve this big issue that is common bile duct after gastric bypass are described, such as the endoscopic, the surgical, the percutaneous, and combined ones. Conclusion: There are several therapeutic options; many of them have already demonstrated excellent results. Even though there is not a gold standard technique, the total endoscopic approach performed by trained hands should be the first line of treatment. Percutaneous approach represents also a safe and effective option that can avoid reoperations in an important number of patients. However, the choice will depend on the severity of the case to face with, the availability of resources, and the experience of the team.

Keywords: bariatric surgery; common bile duct stones; complications; gastric bypass; obesity.