Proximal stenosis of the bile ducts: results with a new surgical endoprosthesis.

A new endoprosthesis designed for surgical intubation of neoplastic strictures of the proximal biliary tract has been developed. The technical aspects of intubation by this endoprosthesis are discussed, and the results in the first 25 patients are given. The results suggest that this device was well tolerated. Mortality and morbidity related to the endoprosthesis were low in comparison to the results given in the literature for intrahepatic cholangioenteric anastomosis. The authors conclude that this procedure could favorably replace intrahepatic cholangioenteric anastomosis as currently used for selected cases of malignant biliary stricture.