BACKGROUND In pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM), the sphincter of Oddi can not control bile and pancreatic juice flow, which may lead to two-way reflux of bile and pancreatic juice, thus causing chronic inflammation, thickening, fibrosis and metaplasia of the common bile duct wall. These pathophysiological changes have been linked to disruption of the epithelium barrier in the common bile du...

BACKGROUND Nonoperative management of blunt pediatric liver injuries has become the standard of care in the absence of hemodynamic instability. However, associated bile duct injuries remain as difficult challenges. Few case reports have demonstrated the benefits of conservative approaches, but others have found better outcomes with surgical intervention. In this study, we report on our experien...

The transitional epithelium lining the ducts of various glands such as salivary and mammary glands, and organs such as liver, pancreas, kidney and lung must bear a permeability barrier as they are in direct contact with the hostile environment in the lumen. The barrier function of pancreatic ductal epithelium is essential for preventing the back flux of proteases, lipases and DNAases from the p...

Thoracic duct injury is a rare but serious complication following chest surgeries and major neck dissections. Clinically, it can present as cervical chylous fistula, chylothorax or chylopericardium. Without treatment, the mortality is up to 50% and thus, early aggressive therapy is indicated. Traditional conservative management includes low-fat diet, parenteral nutrition, careful monitoring of ...

During the ten-year period July 1994 to June 2004, 20 patients were seen with iatrogenic bile duct injuries. The case notes of these patients were reviewed. Half of the patients were referred after initial surgery at other hospitals. At the University Hospital of the West Indies, bile duct injury rate was 0.8% and 1% for open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy respectively. Sixty per cent of pati...

In over 90% of healthy people, the dorsal and ventral endodermal pancreatic buds fuse to form the adult pancreas. However, in about the remaining 10% of the population where the fusion does not occur, pancreatic divisum (PD) results. This indeed is the commonest congenital anomaly of pancreas. The dorsal root usually drains a part of pancreatic head, the body and tail of the pancreas via a mino...

BACKGROUND Predictors for bile duct stone recurrence after endoscopic stone extraction have not yet been clearly defined and a study investigating naïve major duodenal papilla is warranted because studies focusing only on naïve major duodenal papilla are rare. The aim of this study was to observe the long-term outcomes of endoscopic bile duct stone extraction for naïve major duodenal papilla an...