Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiography (ERC) in Surgical Emergencies

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Twelve patients, presenting with an acute abdomen of suspected biliary tract origin, had endoscopic retrograde cholangiography performed. Eight patients had either traumatic, spontaneous or postoperative biliary tract fistulas with 5 leading to the peritoneal cavity, 1 to the colon, 1 to the bronchial tree and 1 to the liver parenchyma from a ruptured gall-bladder. Each was confirmed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiography. Four patients with jaundice, following traumatic rupture of the liver, had a pathological communication between the intrahepatic biliary tracts and the hepatic vascular system. ERC is a reliable method for obtaining precise localization of bilary tract problems in surgical emergencies both pre- and post-operatively.