Biliary stents (implanted at GGC and Ayrshire and Arran NHS)

Must read: What the policy covers

This policy covers the use of 1.5T and 3T MRI on patients with biliary stents inserted at GGC and Ayrshire and Arran NHS departments.

Must read: What this policy does not cover / notable exceptions

This policy does not cover the use of MRI on patients with biliary stents that have been inserted out with GGC and Ayrshire and Arran NHS departments

Must read: The MR safety policy

In patients with a biliary stent inserted at these sites can immediately following stent implantation, 1.5 T or 3T MRI can safely proceed using the Normal Operating Mode of the scanner. Multiple pulse sequences per protocol are allowed but no single sequence can exceed 15 mins in length. These MR conditions are based on the MR conditions for the Boston Wallflex biliary stent IFU (click here for MR conditions).

Risk assessment: DR-GGC-RISK-075

Additional background information and discussion

According to the MHRA (2014 section 4.11.2.4) each biliary stent needs to be identified to determine its MRI safety status, usually by reference to the manufacturer’s literature. However, it has been found that the make and model of the stent is typically omitted in surgical notes, making it difficult to determine the MR safety status. We have had confirmation from the surgical team that within the following sites: GRI, QEUH and RAH and NHS Ayrshire and Arran MR Conditional biliary stents are used.