[Spontaneous migration of large stones from the bile duct (author's transl)]

Spontaneous migration of bile-duct stones through the papilla into the intestine was directly observed in two patients with choledocholithiasis. The mechanism of such spontaneous migration lies in the development of a pressure necrosis at the papilla causing a tear in its pore. Spontaneous migration of stone from the common bile duct can be assumed when endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography reveals a balloon-shaped swollen papilla with a torn pore, and previously observed obstructive jaundice regresses in the presence of stone-free, though perhaps somewhat dilated, bile passages.