Abstract
A 72-year-old woman underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic head cancer. The histopathological diagnosis was invasive pancreatic ductal carcinoma. She received adjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine. However, one and a half years later, abdominal CT showed liver metastases. The chemotherapy was changed to TS-1, but, about two months later, she developed vomiting and visited our hospital. Abdominal CT revealed signs of ileus due to jejunal stenosis, for which an ileus tube was inserted. Ileus tube imaging showed no stenosis distal to the site of jejunal stenosis. Because it was assumed that surgical treatment, such as small intestinal bypass, would aggravate the patient’s general condition, stent placement was chosen. The guide wire was inserted beyond the stenotic site endoscopically under fluoroscopic guidance, and the stent was successfully placed. Stent placement is a useful treatment for malignant stenosis in that it is a minimally invasive procedure that enables early oral feeding after surgery, and improves symptoms of ileus, thereby contributing to enhancement of the patient’s QOL. Herein, we report a patient in whom stent placement for inoperable ileus improved the patient’s QOL.
