Interventional Radiology of the Gallbladder

This book describes the techniques of percutaneous access to the gallbladder for the treatment of gallstones. It considers the indications, contra-indications, and complications of the various routes to this organ. Percutaneous transhepatic and subcostal cholecystostomy are described step by step. This practical text is the first in any language on percutaneous cholecystostomy and its uses for the diagnosis of biliary disease. The author also discusses drainage of the gallbladder in acute gallbladder disease and in extrahepatic biliary obstruction, percutaneous lysis of gallstones, percutaneous cholecystolithotomy and transcholecystic access to the bile ducts. The text is illustrated with many procedure diagrams and prints of radiological techniques used in percutaneous cholecystostomy. It shows that there is now a real alternative to surgery in the treatment of gallstones. When thoroughly mastered, these safe methods open up wide vistas - a radical alteration in the treatment of a large number of patients with symptomatic gallstones.