Treatment of Afferent Loop Obstruction by Percutaneous Trans-Hepatic Biliary and Intestinal Drainage

We presented a rare case of chronic afferent loop obstruction after radical resection of gastric carcinoma. A 44year-old man was admitted because of “upper abdominal distension and abdominal pain for 3 months, skin and sclera jaundice for 2 weeks”. Abdominal CT revealed dilatation of the intrahepatic bile duct and common bile duct, a large, abdominal cystic lesion, as well as left adrenal gland metastasis. MRCP revealed that the cystic lesion was an expansion of loops. Thus, the diagnosis of afferent loop (A-loop) obstruction was made. Subsequently, the patient underwent percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD). The patient’s abdominal pain was significantly reduced, and the jaundice subsided. We should consider the possibility of the occurrence of the left adrenal metastasis and abdominal lymph node metastasis led to a chronic obstruction of A-loop. The chronic obstruction gradually developed into a complete blockage, further causing biliary obstruction and resulting in the occurrence of severe jaundice and abdominal pain. Here we not only reported a case of chronic afferent loop obstruction following radical resection of gastric carcinoma, but also analyzed the characteristic features of CT imaging and treatment. This case report is a good reference to similar gastrointestinal malignancy.