ARTERIAL COMPLICATIONS OF PERCUTANEOUS TRANSHEPATIC BILIARY DRAINAGE

Purpose: To report on the frequency and treatment of arterial complica tions due to percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). Materi als: Lesions of the intrahepatic artery were encountered in 10 of 525 patients treated by PTBD (2%). Hemobilia followed in 9 patients and su bcapsular hematoma in 1. Seven patients had a benign biliary stenosis and 3 had a malignant stenosis. Results: The bleeding resolved spontan eously in 3 patients. In 7 it required arterial embolization, which wa s successfully achieved either through the percutaneous catheter (n = 3) or by arteriography (n = 4). Conclusion: Arterial bleeding is a rel atively rare complication of PTBD that can easily be treated by select ive arterial embolization when it does not resolve spontaneously. In t his series its frequency was much higher (16%) when the stenosis was b enign than when it was malignant (0.6%).