[Clinical and endoscopic radiologic results after transduodenal papilloplasty (author's transl)]

The study comprises 56 patients, who underwent transduodenal papilloplasty. More than 15% were symptom-free at least 4 years following surgery. All the symptoms the patients suffered from were nonspecific and the pathological findings of the blood samples were not correlated with the width of the orificium of the papilla of Vater or the diameter of the common bile duct. In 49 patients the ERCP was performed. In 48 cases the retrograde cholangiography was successful, in 1 case only the retrograde pancreatography was possible. In all patients we found normal efflux of contrastmedium out of the papilla. Bile stones, one localized in the common bile duct and the other in the cyst remnant were the most important findings. The diameters of the common bile ducts varied considerably and were not dependent on the velocity of the efflux of the contrast medium. Contrary to the observations of other authors, in only 15% of our patients free air bubbles were found in the bile tree. Peripapillary diverticula of the duodenum were detected in 15% of our patients, but did not lead to compression or obstruction of the common bile duct. Even without histologic examination of the liver, we believe that a broad papilloplasty of the papilla prevents an ascending cholangitis or other related complications.