Scintiscanning in the evaluation of biliary enteric anastomoses

The evaluation of symptomatic patients who have undergone biliary enteric anastomoses, particularly when the diversion was into the jejunum, is difficult. Conventional techniques for evaluation, such as oral cholecystography (OCG), intravenous cholangiography (IVC), ultrasonography (US), computer-assisted tomography scanning (CT scanning), or endoscopy are not adequate to provide definitive information on the patency of the anastomoses. Hepatobiliary scintiscanning using 99mTc-HIDA and BIDA (iminodiacetic acid derivatives) was performed on 12 patients. The patients were from 11 to 72 years of age and included ten men and two women. The scan results were correlated with US, CT scan, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC), operative findings, and final diagnosis. Scanning was highly accurate in this group and could be performed successfully even in jaundiced patients (total serum bilirubin level up to 20.0 mg/dl). In patients in whom dilated bile ducts were demonstrated (by US, CT scan, or scintiscan), only the scintiscan revealed the true patency of the anastomoses. The advantages of the technique are that it is simple and noninvasive. Delayed transit of bile (scanning agent) to bowel is a very reliable indication of partial or complete obstruction. Scintiscanning is the only technique that demonstrated the functional state of biliary secretion and excretion into bowel in patients with previous biliary enteric anastomoses.