Intrahepatic biliary disruption by Fogarty biliary balloon tipped probe

Exploration of the common bile duct fails many times to remove all the stones, especially those impacted intrahepatically or the Vater's ampula. The Fogarty balloon-tipped biliary catheter provides an excellent modality for solving this problem. However, the use of this technique requires awareness of the fact that intrahepatic bile duct disruption may occur and cause potentially severe morbidity. Four cases of such damage are described and the literature is briefly reviewed.