Tc-99m DISIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy showing bile leakage into the thoracic cavity

Bile leakage into the thoracic cavity is a rare complication of percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD). A 59-year-old man was hospitalized because of sudden onset of shortness of breath and chest tightness. Five weeks before admission, he underwent PTCD for palliative drainage of jaundice caused by an inoperable carcinoma of the pancreatic head. Chest radiography revealed a pleural effusion of the right lung. Tc-99m DISIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy revealed radioactivity in the right hemithorax. Bile leakage into the right thoracic cavity was diagnosed based on the hepatobiliary scintigraphic findings.