Severe arterial bleeding after percutaneous transhepatic cholangiographic drainage

Vascular complications associated with percutaneous biliary drainage: a report of three cases

Percutaneous biliary drainage is a common interventional radiology procedure. It is usually performed in the setting of biliary obstruction, benign or malignant, after endoscopic approach failed or is technically not possible. Percutaneous biliary drainage has a relatively low complication rate, and most complications that occur are usually self-limited. Major complications, however, can occur. In this article, we report three major hemorrhagic complications and their management. They include hemorrhage secondary to fistula formation and pseudoaneurysm formation occurring several days to weeks subsequent to the initial drain placement.