Percutaneous Biliary Stents Placement and Drainage for Treatment of Biliary Obstruction

Objective To retrospectively study the technique and therapeutic effect of percutaneous biliary stents placement or drainage in treating biliary obstruction.Methods Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography(PTC)was performed in forty-four patients with biliary obstruction.The inner-outer draining catheter or metallic stent was placed into biliary tract if the regions of obstruction could be passed by guild wire after PTC,or the outer drainage could only be carried out if the regions of obstruction could not be passed.Results 32 metallic stents were placed in 29 patients,the outer drainage was performed in 6 patients and inner-outer drainage in 7 patients.Within the period of follow-up in 16 patients,the serum total bilirubin decreased from(351±142.4)μmol/L before the procedure to(143.5±97.6)μmol/L one week later after the procedure,the serum total bilirubin decreased to normal or near normal level in 13 cases one month later and no obvious decreased in 3 cases.9 patients died after a median survival of 6.8 months(range 3～21 months).Conclusion Percutaneous biliary stents placement and drainage is a safe and effective palliative therapy for malignant biliary obstruction