[Inadequate function of Oddi's sphincter. Endoscopic treatment and long-term follow up]

Inadequate function of Oddi sphincter is a clinical entity of difficult diagnosis and controversial treatment. The diagnosis can be suspected by the clinical history, biochemical tests, ultrasonography and endoscopy but can only be proved by manometry. We studied 35 patients, 23 women and 12 men with a mean age of 56.4 years. They were all cholecystectomized and had pain as before they were operated. 33 had elevation of alkaline phosphatase all of them had dilatation of the main bile duct over 12 mm and delayed contrast emptying over a 45 minutes period. Manometry demonstrated high pressure of Oddi sphincter above 30 mmHg. We performed endoscopic sphincterotomy in all cases without complications. We did a clinical, biochemical and endoscopic evaluation every 3 months during the first year and every 6 months during the second and third year. Thirty one patients (81.6%) remained asymptomatic after the procedure, with improvement of the biochemical tests in all cases. We concluded that endoscopic sphincterotomy is a good alternative in the management of these patients.