WHAT IS BILIARY DRAINAGE AND STENTING?
Biliary drainage is the insertion of a tube into the bile duct. This is mainly carried out when the bile ducts are blocked.
ABOUT
DIAGNOSIS
PROCEDURE
RECOVERY
RISKS
BENEFITSWHY WOULD MY DOCTOR REFER ME TO HAVE THIS PROCEDURE?
You will be referred for biliary drainage and stenting because of gallstones impacted in the ducts, Injury to or narrowing in the bile ducts from previous surgery and involvement of cancer in the ducts.
Wondering If You Qualify for BILIARY DRAINAGE AND STENTING?
How do I prepare for the procedure?
The procedure is carried out under sedation or general anaesthetic, meaning that you cannot eat or drink for 6 hours before your procedure.
If you are diabetic, you are advised to check with the radiology practice before fasting.
You may need to stop medications that thin your blood, as these will increase your risk of bleeding. Examples include warfarin (often sold as Coumadin or Jantoven), clopidogrel (often sold as Plavix), asasantin, heparin and enoxaparin sodium (often sold as Clexane). If you think that you may be taking any of these medications, please discuss this with the radiology practice before the procedure.
Bring all your usual medication(s) (or a complete list) with you.
What happens during the procedure
This procedure is usually carried out with the assistance of either sedation (medication to relax you) or a general anaesthetic.
The skin of your abdomen is washed with antiseptic and then a very fine needle is inserted through the skin to administer local anaesthetic.
A small cut is made in the skin and a thin needle is passed through the skin into the liver and then into a bile duct inside the liver.
Contrast medium (also known as x-ray dye) is injected into the bile duct, which allows it to be seen on X-ray pictures. X-ray pictures or images are taken to see the path of the bile ducts.
A thin wire is passed through the centre of the needle so that it lies in the bile duct. If planned, a stent (metal mesh tube) will be inserted to open the blocked bile duct. Finally, a thin drain tube is then inserted over the top of the wire and into the bile duct.
One end of the drain tube will remain in the bile duct and the other end sits outside the skin where it is attached to a bag into which the bile drains. It is therefore normal for this bag to fill up with green-brown bile.
Inserting the drain usually takes 60–90 minutes.
What is the recovery
normally like?
After the procedure, you will be monitored from the effects of any sedation or anaesthetic medications that were used.
There is usually some initial discomfort or pain where the tube passes through the skin. This is usually well managed with simple pain-relieving medications. Sometimes the pain is severe and can go on for some days requiring strong analgesia.
The drainage bag will need to be emptied regularly. You will be advised on how to do this. If the tube needs to stay in for a long time, some skin redness/irritation can occur around the point at which the drain enters the skin.
What are the risks?
The risks of this procedure vary between different people. This is because some people will be significantly sicker than others before starting, and because some biliary drainage procedures are more difficult to carry out than others. In general, the risks include the risk of the sedation/anaesthetic and the risks of the procedure itself.
Biliary drainage complications may include bleeding infection, leak of the bile into the abdominal cavity or into the space around the lung.
Complications may result in the need for emergency treatment or even surgery.
If left untreated, a blockage of the bile duct is associated with a significantly higher risk of serious illness and death than the possible side effects.
What are the benefits?
If you are suffering symptoms of a blocked bile duct, such as skin discolouration, itching, nausea, and tiredness; a biliary drainage may relieve some of these symptoms over time (it often takes several days after the procedure for these benefits to become apparent). If the bile in the blocked bile ducts is infected, biliary drainage is an important part of the treatment. Biliary drainage often improves the liver function tests in patients requiring chemotherapy as part of cancer treatment.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RESPOND TO THE PROCEDURE?
It is important that you discuss the results with the doctor who referred you, either in person or on the telephone, so that they can explain your results.
Find a Doctor
Our Doctor Finder is a comprehensive database of interventional radiologists practicing in Australasia.
Use the search fields to search based on geographic location or by area of practice.