| Abstract: | The effect of endoscopic sphincterotomy on bile acid pool size and lipid composition was studied in 3 patients with an intact gallbladder and in 7 patients who had previous cholecystectomy. Measurements were made at two time intervals after endoscopic sphincterotomy, early (3-9 days) and late (6-9 months). Patients with an intact gallbladder showed a marked reduction in their total bile acid pool during follow-up examinations (95.3 +/- SD 14.0 vs. 18.6 +/- 8.1 mumol/kg), whereas in the cholecystectomized patients the pool size showed no significant change (29.4 +/- 13.4 vs. 26.6 +/- 11.4 mumol/kg). The reduction in bile acid pool size caused by sphincterotomy in patients with an intact gallbladder did not increase the degree of cholesterol saturation in hepatic bile. |
