Biliary drainage

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)
  • endoscopic sphincterotomy: although commonly used in the setting of choledocholithiasis, it can also be employed in the treatment of malignant biliary obstruction
    • it can be performed with or without stent placement 
• endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided biliary drainage 
• 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