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Biomedical subjects

J F Grier

Publications and source records attributed to J F Grier.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

A critical review of the Couinaud technique of hepatic resection.

The Couinaud technique of left hepatic lobectomy involves the isolation and division of portal vein, hepatic artery, and biliary tributaries as a unit within the liver parenchyma. It saves time and minimizes blood loss by virtue of the common investment of the portal structures in a thick connective tissue sheath. Right hepatic lobectomy can be performed in a similar manner based on the same assumption that the biliary and vascular tributaries maintain a constant anatomic relationship with one another. We describe a patient who underwent right hepatic lobectomy by the Couinaud technique who (in retrospect) had congenital absence of a left hepatic duct. Because small bile ducts from the left lobe drained into the right hepatic duct deep to the sight of resection, obstructive jaundice resulted postoperatively, necessitating orthotopic liver transplantation. Presently, the patient is doing well 1 year after transplantation. When the Couinaud technique is used in the setting of a biliary anatomic variant, the results can be disastrous. This case illustrates that the Couinaud technique is unsafe unless biliary anatomic variants are excluded prior to hepatic lobectomy.

Bile Ducts↗
PubMed1995

Diagnostic considerations in evaluation of patients presenting with melena and nondiagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopy.

Proper evaluation of patients with melena and nondiagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopy is comparatively undefined. We sought to determine the percentage of patients with melena and nondiagnostic upper endoscopy and assess the yield of further evaluation. Of 209 patients presenting with melena, 180 underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy as the initial study, which was nondiagnostic in 43 cases (24%). Further evaluation was pursued in 30. A presumed source of melena was found in 11 patients (37%), identified by colonoscopy in seven, bleeding scan in three, and barium enema plus flexible sigmoidoscopy in one. Nearly all such defined cases originated from the right colon. Small bowel contrast studies, flexible sigmoidoscopy of barium enema alone, and angiography failed to reveal a source. Our findings suggest that many (24%) patients presenting with melena will have nondiagnostic upper endoscopy; further evaluation reveals a potential source in 37% of this group, with the right colon being the most likely location of pathology; and colonoscopy is the test of choice in this cohort.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

WDHA (watery diarrhea, hypokalemia, achlorhydria) syndrome: clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment.

WDHA (watery diarrhea, hypokalemia, and achlorhydria) syndrome is an unusual paraneoplastic condition caused by excess vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) secreted by certain tumors. The onset of the syndrome is insidious, and diagnosis is usually delayed by months to years. Morbidity and mortality from untreated WDHA syndrome are related to long-standing dehydration and electrolyte and acid-base disturbances resulting in chronic renal failure. Diagnosis requires documentation of large volumes of secretory diarrhea, elevated serum VIP levels, and localization of the VIP-secreting tumor. Treatment includes correction of volume, electrolyte, and metabolic abnormalities, pharmacotherapy to decrease gastrointestinal secretion and increase absorption, and ultimately surgical resection or debulking of the vipoma.

Humans↗
PubMed1995

Sequential endoscopic/laparoscopic management of sickle hemoglobinopathy-associated cholelithiasis and suspected choledocholithiasis.

We reviewed the medical records of 17 patients with sickle hemoglobinopathy-associated cholelithiasis who were candidates for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) between 1991 and 1994. Eight patients with suspected choledocholithiasis (CDL) were identified, all of whom had preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which revealed CDL in 3 patients (18%), all of whom had endoscopic ductal clearance. Choledocholithiasis was suspected because of hyperbilirubinemia or serum liver enzyme abnormalities. Incremental hyperbilirubinemia exceeding "baseline" values by > 5 mg/dL was the best predictor of CDL. Subsequent LC was successful with discharge within 2 days of LC in all but one patient, who was converted to open cholecystectomy. This small series suggests that in sickle hemoglobinopathy patients with cholelithiasis (1) CDL is relatively common among patients with an increase above baseline hyperbilirubinemia, (2) bile duct dilatation, alkaline phosphatase, and serum aminotransferase levels are poor predictors of CDL, and (3) sequential endoscopic/laparoscopic management of cholelithiasis and suspected CDL is successful.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Acute suppurative cholangitis associated with choledochal sludge.

Three patients with acute cholangitis who lacked cholangiographic evidence of common bile duct stones are reported. One presented 7 yr after cholecystectomy, and the other two had gallbladder sludge but no gallstones. The clinical features were mild, consisting of biliary pain, low grade fever without chills, and with modest leukocytosis. In each case, free cannulation of the bile duct was not possible, necessitating needle-knife papillotomy. After endoscopic sphincterotomy, balloon retrieval yielded purulent bile and sludge, but no stones. Prompt clinical improvement resulted in all three patients. Cultures of bile obtained at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography grew Escherichia coli in two patients and Enterobacter aeruginosa in the other. These observations suggest a link between intermittent obstruction due to biliary sludge in the common bile duct and bacterial cholangitis. We hypothesize that recurrent passage of biliary sludge may precipitate obstructive inflammation and fibrosis of the ampulla of Vater. Acute cholangitis should be added to the differential of potential complications of biliary sludge.

Acute Disease↗