PERCUTANEOUS ULTRASOUND GUIDED BILIARY DRAINAGE. FACTORS THAT AFFECT PERFORMANCE AND COMPLICATIONS RATE

Purpose: To study the factors that affect the feasibility and safety of ultrasound guided percutaneous biliary drainage (PBD) in the treatment of malignant obstructive jandice. Methods and Materials: Between 2000–2004 we performed US guided PBD in 40 patients (23 males, 17 females). The indications for PBD were: hilar obstructions (20 pts), middle common bile duct obstructions (12 cases) and distal obstructions caused by pancreatic tumors (8 cases) in which endoscopic drainage was not possible. We performed right-sided PBD in 15 cases and left-sided PBD in 25 cases using 5–8 F “pigtail“ catheters, which were ins…