[Common bile duct stone formation on migrating ligature threads. A report on three cases (author's transl)]

Common bile duct stones developed around non-absorbable suture threads that had migrated into the common bile duct in three patients. Two cases were typical in that they involved migration of the gallbladder stump ligature thread, associated in one cases with that of the arterial ligature. the third, rather more unusual case, involved the formation of stone on a nylon thread fifteen years after removal of the head and body of the pancreas following an injury, without any intervention on the biliary tract. The only explanation possible for the presence of a thread in the biliary tract is that it migrated through the Wirsung's duct. The published literature on the particular subject of common bile duct stone formation on non-absorbable suture material is reviewed.