Combined endoscopic and percutaneous stent insertion to overcome a problem of percutaneous stent insertion.

Non-operative stent insertion is a well-accepted means of palliating malignant biliary obstruction. The endoscopic approach is often considered the procedure of choice, with the percutaneous technique reserved for endoscopy failures. We recently encountered a patient in whom both techniques proved unsuccessful initially, and in whom palliation was finally achieved by means of a combined endoscopic and percutaneous transhepatic procedure.