Is biliary stenting major surgery?

Biliary stenting is not a major surgical procedure and is currently performed primarily through minimally invasive interventions. Biliary stenting mainly refers to the implantation of a biliary stent through endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatic surgery (EPCR), in which a contrast agent is used to determine the location and length of the biliary stricture, and then a guide wire is passed through the stricture. The stent is then placed inside the bile duct to dilate the narrowed bile duct and allow bile drainage. There are two types of bile duct stenting interventions, one is percutaneous puncture into the bile duct to place the stent, and the other is through the body’s natural channels (i.e., ERCP) to place the stent, depending on the location of the bile duct stenosis and the adjoining conditions. Although bile duct stenting is a minimally invasive procedure, the risk of treatment may vary depending on individual differences. For patients with good basic health conditions, the risk of treatment is low, while if the patient’s general condition is poor or combined with other systemic diseases, the risk of treatment is higher.