Peter Makovník, Peter Mlkvý, Marta Horáková
Endoscopy is an important technique in diagnosis and palliative treatment of obstructive jaundice associated with gallbladder carcinoma and carcinoma of the biliary tract. Plastic or metallic stents can be used for duodeno-biliary drainage. Metallic stents have longer patency time and are indicated for patients with estimated survival more than 6 months. Implantation of a single stent in a patient with obstruction at the level of bifurcation can be satisfactory if contrast fills only drained part of biliary tract. A new technique of biliary drainage using endoscopic ultrasonography-guided cannulation of common bile duct or left hepatic duct is now available and can be used after unsuccessful ERCP procedure.