[Biliary scintigraphy in patients with functional disorders of Oddi's sphincter]

The appearance of biliary pain after cholecystectomy in patients with normal ultrasonic and cholangiographic studies has been attributed to functional alterations of the Sphincter of Oddi. We performed dynamic cholescyntigraphic studies of the biliary tract in 32 cholecystectomized patients, at least six months after the operation: 27 were asymptomatic (control group) and 5 had clinical and laboratory findings suggesting temporary functional obstruction of the Sphincter of Oddi. In this group we demonstrated an emptying delay of the biliary tract that was modified by the IV infusion of Cholecystokinin Octapeptide. Biliary Cholescintigraphy appears as a good screening method to evaluate functional alterations of the Sphincter of Oddi.