Biliary obstruction

Alternative names:

bile duct obstruction

Definition:

The blockage of any duct which carries bile from the liver to the gallbladder or from the gallbladder to the small intestine.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Bile is a liquid secreted by the liver that contains cholesterol, bile salts, and waste products such as bilirubin. Bile salts aid with the digestion of fats. Bile passes out of the liver through the bile duct and is concentrated and stored in the gallbladder until it is released into the small intestine after a meal to aid in fat digestion. When an obstruction occurs, bile accumulates in the liver, and jaundice (yellow color of the skin) develops from the accumulation of bilirubin in the blood.

Causes of obstruction include gallstones, tumors of the bile ducts or pancreas, other tumors that have spread to the biliary system, trauma including injury from gallbladder surgery, choledochal cysts, enlarged nodes in the porta hepatis, and inflammation of the bile ducts. The incidence is 5 out of 1,000 people. Risk factors include having a medical history of cholelithiasis, chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, recent biliary surgery, or biliary cancer (such as bile duct cancer) and abdominal trauma.