During the last seven years percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (THD) was used in 13 patients to relieve obstructive jaundice caused by postsurgical stricture. Nine patients had internal drainage with dilatation, and external drainage alone was feasible or available in 4 patients. Of these 4, 2 had further reconstructive surgery without lasting results, jaundice was not completely relieved in 1 because of biliary cirrhosis, and 1 died in hepatic coma from sclerosing cholangitis. Eight patients treated with internal drainage and dilatation became asymptomatic with normal serum bilirubin values; the ninth patient, with biliary cirrhosis and portal hypertension, improved only moderately.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.