Premium
PRE‐OPERATIVE ULTRASOUND MEASUREMENT OF BILE DUCT DIAMETER: BASIS FOR SELECTIVE CHOLANGIOGRAPHY
Author(s) -
HUNT D. R.,
REITER L.,
SCOTT A. J.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/ans.1990.60.3.189
Subject(s) - medicine , cholangiography , cholecystectomy , ultrasonography , ultrasound , duct (anatomy) , radiology , common duct , prospective cohort study , bile duct , common bile duct , general surgery , surgery
In this prospective study, prior to cholecystectomy, the diameter of the common hepatic duct was measured; duct size was then compared with probability of finding stones at operation. Of 115 patients entering the study, 36 had stones removed from the common duct at the time of cholecystectomy but only three (8%) were demonstrated by ultrasonography. No stones were found in ducts ⩽ 3 mm in size (31 % patients). Only two of 26 patients with ducts measuring 4 mm had stones. As duct size increased, so did the probability of stones and all patients with ducts ⩾ 9 mm in diameter had stones. It is concluded that pre‐operative ultrasound provides a reliable basis for a policy of selective cholangiography.