Rapid change in caliber of the nonobstructed common duct.
A case of a postcholecystectomy patient is presented in which an initially grossly dilated common hepatic duct returned to normal size within several minutes. We have tried to explain this phenomenon using known facts abut bile duct elasticity and bile flow, and conclude that such rapid size change probably only occurs in those patients without a normally functioning gallbladder.
D002763:Cholecystectomy; D002779:Cholestasis; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006500:Hepatic Duct, Common / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014463:Ultrasonography