[Use of the duodenal cannula in patients with upper right quadrant pain from causes not determined by Xray]

Duodenal cannulation was incorporated to the medical armamentarium in 1917. Since then, some other technical contributions have improved our diagnostic capabilities. It is most useful in biliary tree diseases; the main purpose of these article was to demonstrate it. We utilized the original Melter Lyon method in 26 patients in whom biliary tree pathology was suspected, they all had negative radiologic studies. Cholecystectomy was performed in each one of these patients, finding chronic calculous cholecystitis in 8 patients, a calculous cholescystitis in 17 and 1 normal gallbladder. In the 26 microscopic studies of the gallbladders, in all of them abnormal findings were observed. No relationship between the type of cholecystitis and the microscopic findings was established. In spite of a few drawbacks the utility of this method is out of question. We believe that duodenal cannulation has a place in the work up of diseases of the biliary tree, duodenum and pancreas.