THERE is a widespread reluctance amongst surgeons to undertake cholecystectomy on the basis of symptoms alone. These views derive from early studies suggesting an unacceptable incidence of the post-cholecystectomy syndrome in such cases.' There is however, a well recognised group of patients with typical biliary tract symptoms and normal oral cholecystography ('stoneless symptoms') who pose con...

OBJECTIVE To determine the proportion and timing for suspecting the diagnosis of gall bladder carcinoma in patients undergoing cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis. METHODS A retrospective study conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi over a period of six years, included medical records of patients, with cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis and a histopathological diagnosis of gall...

This study examined the effect of acute hyperglycaemia, induced by intravenous glucose, on gall bladder motility. Six healthy volunteers were studied in random order on three occasions during normoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia with blood glucose concentrations stabilised at 8 and 15 mmol/l. Gall bladder volumes, measured with ultrasonography, were studied before and during infusion of stepwise i...

Postnatal response of the gall bladder to feeding was studied in 28 preterm infants (gestational age 24-37 weeks) by ultrasonography immediately before feeding and one hour after feeding. Nineteen of the infants were studied once during the first week of life, and nine infants were studied weekly from a postconceptional age of 27-31 until a postprandial gall bladder contraction was seen. A cont...

The concentration of hexosamine, a marker for mucin, was determined and related to the degree of cholesterol saturation and to the occurrence of cholesterol crystals in gall bladder bile of gall stone patients (n = 40) and gall stone free subjects (n = 25). Ten of the gall stone patients had been treated with chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and eight with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) three to four ...

UNLABELLED Due to the constant increase of public health awareness and widespread "cancerophobia", the progressively larger number of incidentally diagnosed gall-bladder polyps became the source of anxiety, which leads patients and physicians to undertake therapeutic decisions, despite the absence of symptoms. The majority of gall-bladder polyps are benign. It is estimated that only 3 to 5% of ...

The numerous reports in the literature showing the marked efficacy of fats, egg-yolk and meat protein in emptying the gall bladder convinced us that the effect of %ecretin” on the evacuation and motor activity of the gall bladder should be studied, since it is well known that these substances stimulate the pancrew, and that “secretin” (very impure solutions) promotes the formation of bile. With...

Background: Over the last decade, laparoscopic cholecystectomy has gained worldwide acceptance and considered to be as "gold standard" in the surgical management of symptomatic cholecystolithiasis. However, the incidence of bile duct injury in laparoscopic cholecystectomy is still two times greater compared to classic open surgery. The development of bile duct injury may result in biliary cirrh...

In order to study the mechanisms influencing bile acid pool size and cholesterol saturation index of fasting gall bladder bile, eight obese volunteers were placed on a low calorie diet for six weeks, and given intramuscular injections of a pharmacological dose of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-OP, 5 micrograms) at mealtimes for half that period (alternating order). During CCK-OP administratio...