Percutaneous transhepatic release of an impacted lithotripter basket and its fractured traction wire using a goose-neck snare: a case report

In a patient with a distal common bile duct stone, a fracture of the traction wire of the basket occurring during the performance of mechanical lithotripsy resulted in the impaction of the lithotripter basket with a stone. The impacted lithotripter basket combined with a fracture of the traction wire is a rare complication of endoscopic stone removal. We were able to pull the impacted basket using an Amplatz goose-neck snare inserted via the percutaneous transhepatic route, which resulted in the freeing of the entrapped stone into the dilated supra-ampullary bile duct. The fractured traction wire and basket could be safely removed by pulling the traction wire from the mouth. The present report is the first to describe the safe and effective use of an Amplatz goose-neck snare for the management of a lithotripter basket impacted with a stone and a fractured traction wire.