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Biliary obstruction Causes and Risks:
Bile is a liquid secreted by the liver that contains cholesterol , bile salts, and waste products such as bilirubin . Bile salts aid with the digestion of fats . Bile passes out of the liver through the bile duct and is concentrated and stored in the gallbladder until it is released into the small intestine after a meal to aid in fat digestion. When an obstruction occurs, bile accumulates in the liver, and jaundice ( yellow color of the skin ) develops from the accumulation of bilirubin in the blood.
Causes of obstruction include gallstones , tumors of the bile ducts or pancreas, other tumors that have spread to the biliary system , trauma including injury from gallbladder surgery, choledochal cysts , enlarged nodes in the porta
hepatis, and inflammation of the bile ducts. The incidence is 5 out of 1,000 people. Risk factors include having a medical history of cholelithiasis , chronic pancreatitis , pancreatic cancer , recent biliary surgery , or biliary cancer (such as bile duct cancer ) and abdominal trauma.
Prevention:
Awareness of risk factors can allow prompt diagnosis and treatment of biliary obstruction. The obstruction itself may not be preventable.
Symptoms:
Signs and Tests:
When the abdomen is examined, the gallbladder may be able to be felt (palpable).
Blood tests that show obstruction: Tests that show obstruction in the bile duct: This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:
Treatment:
The objective of treatment is to relieve the blockage. Stones may be removed using an endoscope (a flexible telescope-like tube that is passed into the stomach and bile ducts to allow visualization and minor manipulation of these organs). In some cases, surgery is required to bypass the obstruction.
In blockage caused by cancer , endoscopic (using an endoscope) or percutaneous ("through the skin") dilation of the obstruction and placement of a tube for drainage may be indicated.
Prognosis:
If biliary obstruction is not corrected, it can lead to chronic liver disease . Most obstructions can be treated with endoscopy or surgery. Obstruction caused by cancer may have a worse outcome.
Complications:
liver disease such as biliary cirrhosis from untreated obstruction
Call Your Healthcare Provider:
Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you notice a change in the color of urine and stools, or the development of jaundice .
This illustration shows the major organs of the digestive system. Their relative sizes and positioning in the body are also demonstrated.
The endocrine system is the chemical control center of the body. The pituitary gland is often considered the master control; sending out hormones that regulate the function of the thyroid, adrenal glands, ovaries, and testis. Over- or under-production of hormones from any of these glands is associated with many different types of disease.
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