A new examination for both biliary and gastrointestinal function after pancreatobiliary surgery--single-isotope two-day method.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are no established tests for both biliary and gastrointestinal function after pancreatobiliary surgery. In this study, mixing of ingested food with bile after long-term postoperative period was evaluated.

METHODOLOGY

Sixteen patients having undergone Imanaga pancreatoduodenectomy (postoperative years = 6.2 +/- 2.0) were evaluated concerning physiologic function of biliary tract and residual stomach using gastric emptying and hepatobiliary scintigraphy.

RESULTS

At least 24 months after Imanaga pancreatoduodenectomy, postoperative patients had reached 95.8 +/- 4.9% of the pre-illness bodyweight. Gastric emptying half-time (GET1/2) ranged from 9-147 min (mean: 60.6 +/- 35.0). The time of bile excretion from liver to jejunum ranged from 5-45 min (mean: 11.3 +/- 7.8). Asynchrony time ranged from -5-40 min (mean: 11.3 +/- 7.8). There was no significant correlation between GET1/2 and recovery of bodyweight (r = -0.042, P = 0.8809). Similarly, there was no significant correlation between the time of bile excretion and recovery of bodyweight (r = 0.042, P = 0.8791). On the other hand, asynchrony time had a significant inverse correlation with recovery of bodyweight (r = -0.590, P = 0.0146).

CONCLUSIONS

Single-isotope two-day method is an original and useful technique to evaluate biliary and gastrointestinal physiologic function after long-term postoperative period.