Stones extracted from patients with hepatolithiasis were analysed by infrared spectrophotometry. Cholesterol stones containing 70% or more cholesterol were found in 12 out of 55 cases. Judging from the lodging site of the stones, the degree of dilatation of the cystic duct, and the presence of cholecystitis, five of the cases were considered to be cholesterol stones produced in the liver. Two out of the five cases were a 44-year-old female and a 46-year-old female, respectively, with normal bifurcation of intrahepatic ducts, and stones were found in the lateral branches of dilated cystic bile ducts. The other three were 2 males and 1 female with an average age of 33. In these cases, the posterior descending branch bifurcated from the left hepatic duct, and stones were lodged in the dilated bile ducts distal to the junction of the left hepatic duct and the posterior descending branch. It is our conclusion that at least the former two were cases of "primary cholesterol hepatolithiasis" in view of the shape of the stones conforming to the hepatic duct, their easy morcellation, and the high cholesterol contents.
Residual choledochal stones in 11 patients and stones in the intrahepatic bile ducts in 5 patients were successfully removed by the use of the fiberoptic choledochoscope (FCH-6T), introduced percutaneously into the intrahepatic biliary tract. The reasons for the use of percutaneous transhepatic extraction were: (1) unsuccessful endoscopic papillotomy; (2) unsuccessful choledochoscopic removal via the T-tube tract; (3) high surgical risk; (4) the presence of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage for acute cholangitis and acute pancreatitis. All stones were extracted through the liver or the papilla of Vater after crushing them. All minor complications such as pain, vomiting, or fever resolved without further therapy. Percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopy proved safe and effective for the removal of retained choledochal stones and was essential for the treatment of stones in the intrahepatic bile ducts.
A 41-year-old manvisited our hospital with the complaint of palpitation by atrial flutter. He was finally diagnosed as total anomalous pulmonary vein drainage by helical computed tomography (CT). This case is very unusual due to the lack of symptoms until the age of 41. The absence of pulmonary artery stenosis, and the presence of atrial septal defect providing sufficient right to left shunt flow to maintain the output of left ventricle are some of the reasons to explain the lack of symptoms and very slight impact on daily life. Helical CT, in particular 3-dimensional imaging, is very useful in diagnosing complicated cardiovascular deformation as in this case. (Internal Medicine 36: 912-916, 1997)
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