Upper gastrointestinal bleeding: gallstone-induced auto-sphincterotomy

A 67-year-old gentleman with no significant medical history of note presented with sudden onset of epigastric pain, coffee ground vomiting and passing black tarry stool. A series of investigations including blood tests, ultrasound scan, CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast and endoscopy failed to reveal any site of active bleeding. The mystery remained and the patient continued to have upper gastrointestinal bleeding. A second CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast was carried out and showed evidence of contrast extravasation into the duodenum (figure 3). An exploratory laparotomy showed no obvious site of haemorrhage and a loop jejunostomy was performed. The diagnosis of gallstone-induced auto-sphincterotomy was only made, using gastroscope via jejunostomy, when a big gallstone was found in the third part of the duodenum and the papilla was ruptured (figure 5).