Disposable stone basket is an important technology for treating bile duct and pancreatic stones. It can effectively remove various types of stones and reduce the risk of complications.
Design and application of stone basket
Stone baskets are usually made of stainless steel or nickel-titanium alloy and have different structures and size configurations. Its basic function is to capture and remove stones in the bile duct or pancreas under endoscopic guidance. These baskets are usually made of multiple metal wires interwoven to form an expandable three-dimensional structure that can effectively grasp and fix stones. Depending on the size of the stone, three-wire and four-wire can be selected.
Operation method
The stone basket is inserted through the working channel of the endoscope and moved to the location of the stone. When the basket is unfolded, the physician can close it with a control handle to firmly grasp the stone. At this time, the stone is safely trapped in the basket and then removed to the intestine through the endoscope. Some types of baskets can be used in conjunction with lithotripsy devices. When the stones are large or hard, they are crushed with the help of a lithotripsy and then extracted through the basket.
Clinical Application and Technical Advantages
The stone retrieval basket provides significant technical advantages in the removal of bile duct and pancreatic stones. Especially in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), the stone retrieval basket can effectively remove stones from narrow bile ducts or pancreatic ducts. In the treatment of bile duct stones, the stone retrieval basket is usually used in conjunction with a balloon catheter. The former is used to remove larger stones, while the latter helps widen the channel where the stones are located.
The stone retrieval basket has higher safety and reliability than other devices (such as stone retrieval balloons). The balloon may rupture due to stone entrapment, but the design of the stone retrieval basket makes it easy to solve the blockage problem when the stone cannot be extracted smoothly, and it is not easy to get stuck in the bile duct or pancreatic duct.
Safety and Risk of Complications
Although the use of the stone retrieval basket is generally safe, it also has certain risks. Especially when facing large stones or stones in contact with narrow parts of the duct, excessive traction may cause the basket to break or the stone cannot be removed smoothly. In this case, other techniques (such as mechanical lithotripsy) may be needed to assist in extraction. To reduce these risks, some stone retrieval baskets have been designed with a safety release function so that they can automatically disconnect when encountering greater resistance, reducing the risk of equipment damage and patient injury.
Future research and development
Although stone retrieval baskets have been widely used in the treatment of biliary and pancreatic stones, there is still a lack of comparative studies on them with other stone retrieval methods (such as balloons and mechanical lithotripsy). In the future, as clinical research progresses, we look forward to further optimizing the design of these devices, reducing the occurrence of complications, and improving the accuracy and efficiency of their operation.
