[Roentgen findings in T-drainage--results of 311 patients]

Postoperative T Tube cholangiographies of 311 patients from 1980 to February 1992 were evaluated by studying the patient histories and x-ray examinations. Most frequent questions concerned residual stones and papillary occlusion. Most frequent pathological findings were dilatation of the choledochus and of the bile ducts, residual stones and paravasations. Fistulas, abscesses and signs of cholangitis rarely occurred. Dilatation of the choledochus alone did not lead to further treatment. Papillary occlusion was treated by leaving the T drain in situ, patients with occlusion and residual stones were treated by papillotomy, litholysis or lithotripsy. Only 5 patients with necrotizing pancreatitis and abscess had to be reoperated. T tube cholangiography, which at the beginning of the study was a routine postoperative control with minor complications, will surely be applied less frequently in the future due to advances in endoscopy.