[Progressive papillomatosis of the intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts].

The papillomatosis of the bile duct may occur at any age but more often at the age of 40 and 50 with a slight preference for men. The main symptom is an icterus often combined with right-sided epigastric pain. ERC and PTC allows the preoperative diagnosis on the basis of the typical clinical picture. The papillomatosis of the bile duct has to be considered as a disease with cancer risk. The prognosis in case of incomplete removal is unfavorable because of the continuous growth, the intrahepatic spread and the elevated degenerative tendency. Therefore a complete removal should be considered.