5-513.f1:

You have had some small tubes inserted into your bile ducts.

Bile is produced in the liver. The bile is transported via bile ducts within the liver towards the gallbladder. The bile is collected in the gallbladder. When you eat something, bile is released into the intestine. This is what the common bile duct to the intestine is for. The common bile duct opens up into the first section of the intestine. The bile from the common bile duct flows through this opening into the intestine.

To carry out the treatment, a tube was inserted through your mouth and pushed through the stomach to the opening in your common bile duct. A camera was attached to the end of the tube. This camera sent images to a screen during the treatment. Various instruments can also be pushed through a tube like this.

A special fluid is sometimes first injected into the bile duct opening. X-ray images are then taken. This enables a view of whether the fluid is being distributed evenly in the bile ducts.

To insert a tube into the bile ducts, a very thin tube is first inserted into the bile ducts. This thin tube is then used to push the bigger tube to the relevant location.