title: Cholangiographically guided aspiration cytology in the management of malignant biliary obstruction.
abstract: Fifteen patients with malignant biliary obstruction were subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) under fluoroscopic guidance. Fourteen (93%) of them were correctly diagnosed to have a malignancy at FNAC. Simultaneous with FNAC or at a later date, all the patients underwent percutaneous biliary drainage with a drop in serum bilirubin from a mean of 23.2 mg/dl to 8.5 mg/dl. Ten patients were subjected to exploratory laparotomy and biopsy at which the diagnosis of FNAC was confirmed in nine of them. The tenth patient with a negative yield at FNAC had a 1.0 cm cholangiocarcinoma. The usefulness of FNAC combined with biliary drainage as an alternative to surgery is highlighted.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chawla
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wig
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kochhar
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suri
mesh_terms: D002759:Adenoma, Bile Duct / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods*; D002758:Cholangiography; D002779:Cholestasis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged