Sixty-five patients with obstructive jaundice out of a total of 71 patients, were treated successfully by PTCD. The markedly elevated total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase in the serum were reduced significantly and the general condition of the patient improved rapidly. On the other hand, severe obstructive jaundice which had persisted for several weeks was not amenable to treatment in this way. Occlusion of the extrahepatic bile ducts by tumour was treated by internal PTCD; this provided satisfactory flow of bile into the duodenum for at least six months. PTCD is simpler for the patient than surgery and is therefore the method of choice in obstructive jaundice. Finally, PTCD can be used for the introduction of antibiotics for the treatment of suppurative cholangitis or liver abscesses. This rapidly leads to reduction in fever and absorption of the abscesses.