[Technical problems in percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage].

Technical problems are repeatedly encountered during percutaneous transhepatic drainage by catheter or endo-prosthesis which are caused by the position, extent and tightness of the stenosis in the biliary ducts. All means of overcoming these problems must be used, otherwise technical failure or complications become inevitable. The methods to be adopted if catheters break and endo-prostheses become displaced or occluded, and for haemorrhage, are described, as well as methods for draining multiple, proximal or intrahepatic stenoses. This is based on an experience with 74 patients on whom 130 drainage procedures have been performed (80 catheters, 50 endo-prostheses). All complications and mortality (five patients, 3.8%) were due to problems which could not be solved. Internal biliary drainage by means of an endoprosthesis is markedly superior to catheter drainage.