Relationship of the carcinoma of bile ducts to cholelithiasis.
Thirty-eight patients with carcinoma of the bile ducts were studied by PTC and ERCP. These instrumental procedures permit at present a precise and complete diagnosis. In 22 cases (57.9%) the association of a lithiasis was evidenced. The application of a percutaneous transhepatic drainage after PTC in cases of stricture furtherly supports the diagnostic accuracy by the cytologic examination and culture of the bile collected from drainages.