Biliary Stent Placement: What to Expect at Home

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP)

If your biliary duct placement was done with ERCP, you probably will stay at the hospital or clinic for 1 to 2 hours. If you stay in the hospital overnight, you may go home the next day.

You may have a sore throat for a day or two after the procedure. But you should be able to go back to your usual activities.

Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC)

If the stent placement was done with PTC, your doctor may have you lie on your right side for at least 6 hours before you can go home. This is to lower the risk of bleeding from the needle puncture site.

If you stay in the hospital overnight, you may go home the next day.

You may have some pain from the puncture site. You may also have pain in your shoulder. This is called referred pain from a nerve that goes to the liver. The referred pain usually lasts less than 12 hours. You may have a small amount of bleeding from the puncture site.

You will need to take it easy at home for 1 or 2 days after the PTC. You will probably be able to go back to work and most of your usual activities after that.

This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace. Follow the steps below to get better as quickly as possible.

Activity

• Rest as much as you need to after you go home.
• After an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), you may have a sore throat for a day or two. But you should be able to go back to your usual activities.
• After a percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC), you will need to take it easy at home for 1 or 2 days. You will probably be able to go back to work and most of your usual activities after that.

Diet

• Follow your doctor's directions for eating after the procedure.
• Drink plenty of fluids (unless your doctor tells you not to).

Medicines

• Your doctor will tell you if and when you can restart your medicines. The doctor will also give you instructions about taking any new medicines.
• If you stopped taking aspirin or some other blood thinner, your doctor will tell you when to start taking it again.
• Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine.
  • If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed.
  • Store your prescription pain medicines where no one else can get to them. When you are done using them, dispose of them quickly and safely. Your local pharmacy or hospital may have a drop-off site.

Incision care

• If you had the stent placed through a needle into the liver, you may have a bandage on the skin. Gently wash the area daily with warm, soapy water and pat it dry.

Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.