Percutaneous management of tumoral biliary obstruction in children
Devrim Akinci1, Burcak Gumus, Orhan S Ozkan
1Department of Radiology, Hacettepe School of Medicine, Sihhiye, 06100 Ankara, Turkey. akincid@hotmail.com
Insights
Percutaneous biliary interventions are safe and effective for treating tumoral biliary obstruction in children. These minimally invasive procedures successfully managed jaundice and cholangitis in pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Interventional Radiology
- Hepatobiliary Surgery
- Pediatric Oncology
Background:
- Limited data exists on percutaneous biliary interventions in pediatric populations.
- Percutaneous biliary interventions are recognized as safe and effective procedures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the efficacy and safety of percutaneous management for tumoral biliary obstruction in children.
- To evaluate outcomes of minimally invasive biliary interventions in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Eight children (mean age 10.5 years) underwent percutaneous biliary interventions.
- Procedures included biliary drainage, metallic stent placement, and cholecystostomy.
- Patients presented with obstructive jaundice and two had cholangitis.
Main Results:
- All procedures were technically successful with no mortality.
- Bilirubin levels normalized in 50% of patients; cholangitis resolved in treated cases.
- Two patients proceeded to surgery post-intervention; metallic stents remained patent in malignancy cases.
Conclusions:
- Percutaneous biliary interventions offer a safe management option for pediatric tumoral biliary obstruction.
- Minimally invasive approaches are viable for complex pediatric hepatobiliary conditions.
Background:
There is limited experience of percutaneous biliary interventions in children although they are safe and effective procedures.
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous management of tumoral biliary obstruction in children.
Materials And Methods:
Percutaneous biliary interventions were performed in eight children (six boys, two girls) with a mean age of 10.5 years (range 4-17 years). The interventions included percutaneous biliary drainage (five patients), percutaneous biliary drainage and placement of a self-expanding metallic stent (two patients), and percutaneous cholecystostomy (one patient). All patients had signs of obstructive jaundice and two had cholangitis.
Results:
All procedures were successful. No procedure-related mortality was observed. Bilirubin levels returned to normal in four of the eight patients. Findings of cholangitis resolved in the two affected patients after the procedure and antibiotic treatment. Two patients underwent surgery after percutaneous biliary drainage procedures. A self-expanding metallic stent was placed in two patients with malignancy and the stents remained patent until death.
Conclusion:
Percutaneous biliary interventions can be performed safely for the management of tumoral biliary obstruction in children.