Expandable metal stents for malignant hilar biliary obstruction.

Most patients with malignant hilar stenoses are candidates for palliation. For this purpose, biliary drainage plays a major role in improving liver function and managing or avoiding cholangitis. Endoscopic interventions are less invasive than the percutaneous approach and should be considered as the first-line drainage procedures in most cases. Transhepatic interventions should be reserved for endoscopic failures or performed as a complementary approach in a combined procedure. After successful endoscopic access to biliary obstruction, implantation of self-expandable metal stents offers advantages over plastic endoprostheses in terms of stent patency and number of reinterventions.