Fluoroscopy-Guided Gastrojejunostomy Creation with Lumen-Apposing Metal Stent in a Porcine Model

To evaluate the technical feasibility of fluoroscopy-guided gastrojejunostomy creation in a porcine model.

Eight domestic female pigs (median, 15.6 kg; range, 14.5–16.3 kg) were included in this study. The proximal jejunum was punctured from the stomach using a Rösch–Uchida Transjugular Liver Access Set through the mouth, and a lumen-apposing metal stent was placed across the puncture tract between the stomach and the proximal jejunum. All animals were euthanized 6 weeks after the procedure.

The fistulous tract creation and stent insertion with confirmed patency were successful in eight animals, rendering a technical success rate of 100%. Gross inspection showed a matured and patent fistulous tract between the stomach and the proximal jejunum in seven animals. In one animal, the colon between the stomach and the proximal jejunum was inadvertently punctured followed by migration of the stent from the stomach into the colon after the procedure to form a delayed jejunocolostomy. A stent migration and an inadvertent traversing the tail of pancreas by the stent were observed in another two animals without signs of bleeding, infection, or pancreatitis. All animals survived until the end of this study without change in their behavior or appetite. Histological analysis showed that all the fistulous tracts had matured with continuity of submucosal, muscular, and serosal layers, and without destruction of epithelial layers.

Fluoroscopy-guided gastrojejunostomy creation is technically feasible in a porcine model but requires refinement of the targeting technique to avoid transgression of nontarget organs.