The current clinical practice of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage for the treatment of malignant biliary obstruction

Since the percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) was first employed in 1974 to relieve he malignant biliary obstruction, it has been more and more widely used in the clinical practice for nearly forty years. PTBD combined with the stent implantation and/or percutaneous transhepatic balloon dilation has become an important means in treating malignant biliary obstruction. In addition,combination of PTBD with intraluminal brachytherapy and chemotherapy is also beneficial to the elongation of patient's survival time. This paper aims is to make a comprehensive review of PTBD, focusing on its technical development, indications, the current clinical status in treating malignant biliary obstruction and complications. (authors)