What Is a Stent for Jaundice?

A little synthetic tube known as a stent can relieve some cases of jaundice. An unnatural buildup of bile, a green digestive fluid produced by the liver, causes the disease's characteristic yellow discoloration of eyes and skin as well as itching, dark-colored urine or discolored stools, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Stent installation poses few recovery problems or complications and does not even require a general anesthetic.

Description

• CancerHelp UK describes a stent as a small metal or plastic tube that holds a duct or vessel open and helps prevent blockages. For jaundice sufferers, the stent ensures that bile flows freely from the bile duct to the bowel, preventing the buildup that leads to jaundice symptoms. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network notes that metal stents tend to provide trouble-free operation longer than plastic stents.

Indications

• Not every case of jaundice benefits from stent installation. Stents cannot improve jaundice caused by liver cell failure, for instance. According to Net Doctor, jaundice sometimes occurs when the bile duct that conveys bile from the gall bladder to the bowel for digestion becomes blocked. Pancreatic cancer and associated tumors, enlarged lymph glands, scar tissue or other enlargements can apply pressure to the bile duct and squeeze it off. These patients can benefit from stent installation.

Procedure

• A stent installation requires only a sedative instead of the general anesthetic associated with many surgeries. The surgeon will then perform either an endoscopy or a procedure called a percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography. In an endoscopy, the surgeon sees inside the body through a tiny tube-mounted camera, locating the blockage by looking at an injected dye patterns on an X-ray image before inserting the stent into the duct. In a percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, the surgeon directs a wire carrying the stent into the bile duct by means of a needle inserted into the skin.

Recovery

• Once patients get over the sedative administered for their stent procedure, they must start a course of antibiotics to guard against possible infection from gut bacteria migrating to the gall bladder through the stent. Shivering, fever or other signs of an infection call for an immediate hospital visit to receive further antibiotic treatment. Otherwise, patients can see noticeable results within just a few days of the stent procedure. A properly installed stent should provide patients with a minimum of several months’ protection against jaundice.

Considerations

• In some cases a stent will either stop working or do nothing to help the jaundice. A stent that develops a blockage and fails after a few months of normal operation will require replacement through a second surgical procedure. If the stent does not relieve the jaundice, the patient’s doctor may suggest a surgical bypass as an alternative treatment option. While a bypass can improve quality of life, it nevertheless involves major surgery, and the patient should consider the issue carefully and consult family and friends before agreeing to it.