Biliary drainage is employed in several conditions where there is structuring or obstruction of the bile ducts. The most common approaches for this procedure are:
-
endoscopic transpapillary biliary drainage
- biliary stent placement
- plastic stents
- metallic stents (self-expandable metal stents)
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endoscopic sphincterotomy: although commonly used in the setting of choledocholithiasis, it can also be employed in the treatment of malignant biliary obstruction 1
- it can be performed with or without stent placement
- biliary stent placement
- endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided biliary drainage 1,2
- percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD)
- laparoscopic drainage (e.g. T-tube placement)
Cholecystostomy is also a form of biliary drainage but, instead, decompressing the gallbladder.
- percutaneous cholecystostomy
- laparoscopic cholecystectomy