الفهرس 
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Abstract
Choledocholithiasis which is the presence or formation of calculi in the common bile duct regardless of the coexistence of stones in the gallbladder may be either primary or secondary; pigment, cholesterol or mixed stones.
Temporary biliary stenting is indicated in difficult stone after failure of standard stone extraction techniques or incomplete stones extraction to minimize the risk of biliary sepsis before further endoscopic attempts at duct clearance can be made, difficult stone during open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy either alternative to laparoscopic exploration for postoperative ERCP or after open exploration, stone induced cholangitis, stone related stricture or to shorten the procedure time in multiple stones associated with severe diseases as hepatic failure or coagulopathy.
Based upon the stone index, temporary use of one or multiple plastic stent without stone removal could be used as a safe and feasible primary therapy at the initial ERCP for patients with large and/or multiple stones specially the elderly or high-risk patients followed by a wait period of 2 to 3 months hoping for the stone to be less in number, smaller and/or disappearing resulting in stones that could be easily removed at this time.
Long term use of biliary stents as a permanent stand-alone therapy for choledocholithiasis is restricted for the rare patient who fails stone clearance despite advanced endoscopic techniques as alternative to surgical or percutaneous exploration for a selected group of patients with limited life expectancy (patients over 70 years of age or with debilitating disease) and/or prohibitive surgical risk.
Complications of stent placement includes pancreatitis, failed or inadequate positioning (resulting in early cholangitis), migration, duodenal perforation, and late cholangitis related to stent occlusion.