Suspected biliary complications after laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy leading to endoscopic cholangiography: a retrospective comparison.

To study how suspected postoperative biliary complications are influenced by surgical technique, we compared clinical profiles of 63 patients referred for ERCP after open (OC) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) over a four-year period. ERCP was not performed for postoperative pain alone and only six (9.5%) studies were normal.

Chronic hepatitis C with normal aminotransferase levels: a clinical histologic study.

Objective: To define chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among patients with persistently normal aminotransferase levels (PNAL).

Design: Retrospective chart review of all patients encountered during 1-yr with positive hepatitis C antibody (anti-C100-3 ELISA), no alternative cause for their liver disease and PNAL for 6 or more consecutive months prebiopsy. Blinded review of liver histology.

Needle knife papillotomy in a university referral practice. Safety and efficacy of a modified technique.

To study the utility of needle knife papillotomy (NKP), we retrospectively reviewed 575 consecutive endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures performed over a 3.5-year period. Seventy patients (12.

Delayed hemorrhage following endoscopic retrograde sphincterotomy for choledocholithiasis.

To define the clinical significance of delayed postsphincterotomy hemorrhage, we reviewed 476 consecutive ERCP procedures performed over a three-year period. Of 250 patients who underwent endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES), five (2%) developed postprocedure hemorrhage, two of whom had immediate, self-limited bleeding that resolved after endoscopic injection of epinephrine and did not require transfusion. The other three had delayed hemorrhage characterized by: onset 20-48 hr after the procedure, melena without hematemesis as the index clinical manifestation of bleeding, and atraumatic balloon extraction of common duct stones.

Sequential endoscopic/laparoscopic management of sickle hemoglobinopathy-associated cholelithiasis and suspected choledocholithiasis.

We reviewed the medical records of 17 patients with sickle hemoglobinopathy-associated cholelithiasis who were candidates for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) between 1991 and 1994. Eight patients with suspected choledocholithiasis (CDL) were identified, all of whom had preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which revealed CDL in 3 patients (18%), all of whom had endoscopic ductal clearance. Choledocholithiasis was suspected because of hyperbilirubinemia or serum liver enzyme abnormalities.