Septic shock after percutaneous transhepatic drainage of obstructed afferent loop: case report

For management of the afferent loop syndrome, surgical revision such as jejunojejunostomy or Roux-en-Y conversion is the established procedure. Percutaneous transhepatic catheter drainage was used as a method of palliative treatment of the obstructed afferent loop in a patient with extensive mesenteric and peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer. There were no procedural-related complications, but severe bacterial cholangitis and septicemia occurred later. Our limited experience indicates that this procedure may be risky, and that an additional drainage catheter of the bile duct may be needed when biliary stasis is present.