What is a stent?
Stents are small plastic or metal tubes that are put into the bile duct or duodenum. Your symptoms should start to feel better soon after having a stent put in.
- You may have a stent put in to treat your symptoms if you can’t have surgery to remove the cancer.
- If you have jaundice and your cancer can be removed by surgery but you aren’t yet fit enough to have the operation, you may have a stent put into the bile duct before the surgery.
There can be problems with a stent. For example, it can get blocked or move out of place, and there is a risk of getting an infection. But your doctor or nurse can treat these problems if they happen.