Leaking PTC Biliary Drainage Tubes

I am on my 7th set of tubes, the last 3 with gradually increasing sizes, and the leakage just seems to get worse and worse. I went to an ostomy clinic last week and they put on a child-sized ostomy bag to collect the leakage. It worked well for an afternoon before it, too, started to leak. The problem appears to be the small hole they needed to put in the ostomy bag for the drainage tube to pass through on its way to the collection bag on my leg. They attempted to seal that up with waterproof tape, but it started oozing within a couple of hours followed by catastrophic leakage. I am wondering about something else to seal the edges of the ostomy bag to the tube, like maybe a silicone sealant? Has anyone else had any experience with this?

All,

I have discovered that the links within the previous post on drainage care are old and no longer work. They are now updated with the new links, minus the University of Washington as it is no longer available, and I have added the University of Utah.

In addition, interventional radiology should be aware of excessive leakage from the drain insertion site as they will need to assure that the tubing is patent. If all is well and there is continued leakage, I have often times had wound ostomy nurses secure a bag around the insertion site to prevent bile from continually irritating the surrounding skin. You want to keep the skin clean and dry or it will become quite sore after time.

Information gathered on biliary drains from major centers of care in the United States, search terms: Biliary drain leakage, biliary drains, biliary drains not attached to drain bag, leakage at insertion site from biliary drains

Stanford
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/content/ … cation.pdf

Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSKCC)
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patie … e-catheter

University of Utah
http://healthcare.utah.edu/radiology/pr … n-care.php

The Ohio State University Medical Center
https://patienteducation.osumc.edu/Docu … yDrain.pdf

University of San Francisco (UCSF)
http://campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/dmx/ … UR0320.pdf

Beth Israel/Harvard
http://www.bidmc.org/~/media/Files/Cent … 20tube.pdf

Common finding: If leakage, attach to drain bag. These facilities say to flush daily with saline and to call if excessive leakage.

-Karen, BSN, RN, CHPN

Hi Dave! Sorry to hear about the “tube” problems. My husband had those issues and he also got the stitches and the drainage bag. The bag did work for him and I did the emptying. He also pinned the top of the bag to the bottom of his shirt which made it more comfortable. He even putted golf balls with the bag in tact. Hopefully, someone can come up with a good idea for you!