ABSTRACT
Twenty-seven patients with obstructive jaundice were subjected to clinical examination, laboratory investigations as well as percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography [PTC]. Thirteen patients in whom the general condition was poor and / or serum bilirubin above 15 mg% were subjected to percutaneous transhepatic drainage one week prior to operation. We found that PTC is a safe and effective procedure for demonstrating the site, nature and extent of the obstructing lesion as it was successful in 85.1% and 92.5% of patients to diagnose the cause and site of obstruction respectively. PTD, is a safe procedure and can accomplish adequate decompression of the biliary tree and marked improvement of liver functions and general condition before operation. It has a definite indication as a palliative procedure in non-resectable tumours in bad risk patients. No mortality occurred in this series. Four patients with mild infection and one patient with mild hemorrhage were the morbidity in the present study