In simple words: The doctor uses a thin, lighted tube with a camera to see inside your bile ducts. They then widen any narrowed areas and place a small tube (stent) to keep them open. This is done through a tube already in your abdomen from a previous procedure.

This procedure involves the use of a choledochoscope (a biliary endoscope with a light source and camera) to visualize the biliary ducts.The physician dilates a narrowed portion of the duct to prevent blockage and places a stent to keep the passage open. The choledochoscope is inserted through an existing tube in the abdominal wall (such as a T-tube or percutaneous transhepatic drainage tube).

Example 1: A patient with a previous cholecystectomy develops a biliary stricture. A T-tube is in place.The physician performs a percutaneous biliary endoscopy with dilation and stent placement (47556) to relieve the stricture., A patient has a percutaneous transhepatic drainage tube due to a blockage in the bile duct. A stricture forms near the insertion site, requiring dilation and stenting. The provider performs 47556., A patient has a prior T-tube placed, but it is now partially blocked from recurrent stricture. The physician uses the existing access to perform biliary endoscopy, dilates the narrowed area with a balloon catheter, and inserts a stent to maintain patency (47556).

Documentation should include details of the biliary endoscopy, the stricture's location and size, method of dilation, type of stent placed, and any complications encountered.Prior imaging and operative reports related to the pre-existing abdominal tube should also be available.