Hepatic hemobilia is defined as hemorrhage arising from pathological changes in the intrahepatic biliary tract. The main causes are iatrogenic trauma, cholangitis, tumors, and coagulopathy. The salient features of the hemobilia syndrome are described and their causes explained. The treatment, when necessitated by hemorrhage or clot formation, is either resection of the liver or occlusion of the responsible artery by ligature or embolization. The iatrogenic trauma may be operative, resulting from instrumental lesion of the bile ducts, needle biopsy, transhepatic cholangiography, biliary tract prosthesis, or inlaying hepatic artery catheters. Among the inflammatory etiologies, special attention is given to nematodes in the ducts, "the tropical hemobilia." Spontaneous hemobilia may, just as nose bleeds or hematuria, result from treatment with anticoagulants.
Eighteen cancers of the gastric remnant after resection for peptic ulcer are reviewed. Current views on the etiology and pathogenesis of this malignancy are described, as a prolonged exposure of the gastric mucosa to alkaline juices seems to create a precancerous state. Diagnosis of the condition through symptoms, x‐ray examination, cytology, and endoscopic methods is discussed. The curative procedure is recommended, and the poor value of palliative surgery is emphasized. Seven survivors (three long‐term survivors) are reported.
Fibrin clots may form in the biliary tract from hemobilia or in inflammatory disease. There is a wide variation in the clinical course of such clots which is exemplified by 9 patients. They may either dissolve through fibrinolysis, get ejected into the intestine, remain and obstruct the biliary tract, or may even transform into gallstones. In order to elucidate the mechanisms involved, the behavior of blood clots in bile was studied in vitro. A model was constructed of the biliary tract and, drained by a T-tube, where human bile circulated with a flow rate resembling that in vivo. When a small amount of human blood was injected, it flowed immiscibly to the lowest level, displaced the bile, and formed a clot of pure blood. Even a minor bleeding may thus form a coagulum. This is different from the mixed clot of blood and bile that forms in experiments simulating major hemorrhage. These findings are related to clinical experience and especially to the disappearance of "retained stones" with or without the use of dissolving agents.
The Prader-Willi Syndrome shortens the life of patients due to the morbid obesity which it entails. The compulsive hyperphagia associated with it makes a dietetic treatment or a gastroplasty difficult. This study presents the case histories of three patients suffering from the Prader-Willi syndrome who were operated on by means of a Scopinaro's bilio-pancreatic diversion. Following a marked reduction the first year, the weight loss stabilized and then tended to diminish. The observation of three cases which continued for two and a half to six years did not reveal any considerable metabolic problems. The deficiency of iron, vitamins D and B12 as well as folic acid had to be made up by supplementation. These results are comparable with the most favorable ones in the literature. Even if the effect on the weight loss is not spectacular, the operation manages to hold off the development of the obesity, inexorable for those with the Prader-Willi syndrome, and prevents lethal complications, without having notable side effects. Lifting coercive dietary measures improves the quality of life.
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