A postoperative T tube cholangiogram after cholecystectomy in a 62 year old patient showed two retained calculi of 14 mm diameter each. Endoscopic sphincterotomy was not possible because of previous Billroth II gastrectomy. The stones were disintegrated by electromagnetically generated extracorporeal shock waves. The T tube was replaced by a balloon catheter and the papilla of Vater was dilatat...

Background Treatment of chronic anal fissure has been directed at relaxing increased sphincter tone. Lateral internal sphincterotomy (LIS), since its introduction in 1951 by Eisenhammer, has been considered the gold standard approach with healing rate of approaching 95%. However, concerns have been raised about postoperative impairment of faecal incontinence after LIS. Actually, the incidence o...

A 24-year-old pregnant patient was referred to us because of pain and tenderness in the right upper quadrant. Her liver enzymes and bilirubin levels were elevated; an abdominal ultrasound examination revealed gallstones within the gallbladder. Diagnosis of biliary pancreatitis was established based on elevated amylase levels. Oral intake was withheld; intravenous antibiotic therapy and total pa...

Acute pancreatitis is a rare complication of hydatidosis and the successful use of endoscopic sphincterotomy associated with extraction of hydatid membranes has been rarely reported. We describe a young man who developed acute pancreatitis after rupture of an echinococcus cyst, located at the left hepatic lobe, into the biliary tract. The cause of pancreatitis was confirmed by endoscopic retrog...

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