Kron's biliary prosthetic bypass in the treatment of neoplastic jaundice

After experimental study in the dog, which showed the material to be highly reliable, an original method of biliary bypass using a silicone prosthesis in the treatment of neoplastic jaundice is introduced. This prosthesis allows the bile duct to be bypassed regardless of the location of the obstacle. This method was used in 150 patients; recession was sufficiently good in 84 of them to confirm good tolerance and the excellence of the results. In fact, good results were recorded in 95% of cases of cancer of the hilum, which is all the more remarkable in consideration of the difficulties involved in these operations. The main postoperative complications are bile fistulas which resolve spontaneously if the precaution of extensively draining the zones of intubation is taken; postoperative comfort is excellent; no constraint is necessary and the operative risk is moderate, this is particularly desirable in patients in a poor general condition. A short prosthesis makes transtumoral intubation possible, and a long prosthesis allows implantation in the digestive tract: stomach, duodenum or first intestinal loop. Postoperative persistence of jaundice is rare if a prosthesis of sufficient diameter is used and if no major bile duct or part of the liver is excluded. Cholangitis is exceptional and indicative of an excluded biliary area.