Paraduodenal hernia: a treatable cause of upper gastrointestinal tract symptoms.

Paraduodenal hernia (PDH) is an unusual condition that is caused by congenital intestinal malrotation. Noncatastrophic presenting symptoms and their responses to surgery have not been well-characterized. Barium upper gastrointestinal (UGI) series and small bowel follow-up x-rays, performed from December 1995 to September 1996, were sequentially reviewed by one radiologist (J.M.) to identify patients with small bowel series compatible with a PDH. Case histories were reviewed for symptomatic presentation, associated evaluation, and treatment. Based on the 294 UGIs and small bowel follow-throughs performed during this 10-month period, 6 cases were suspected to have a PDH. A right PDH was confirmed in the three patients who underwent surgical exploration (prevalence 1%). Preoperative patient symptoms included nausea, bilious vomiting, and right upper quadrant pain. Repair of the hernia defect resulted in complete resolution of chronic symptoms. Preoperative upper endoscopy, performed in three patients, was not helpful in identifying the disorder. Preoperative computerized tomography obtained in two patients was diagnostic for a right PDH. One symptomatic patient with vomiting and gastric stasis did not have surgery because of a terminal illness. The remaining two patients had no symptoms attributable to PDH. Patients with PDH frequently have chronic UGI symptoms. An upper endoscopy cannot be used to exclude this entity. After surgery, UGI symptoms from PDH are likely to resolve.

Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the common bile duct.

Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the common bile duct is rare. To date, nine cases have been recorded in the literature. We report an additional case of a 39-yr-old woman presented with obstructive jaundice. Pathological studies of the surgical specimen disclosed that the wall of the common bile duct was transmurally infiltrated by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of diffuse large cell type of B-cell lineage intimately associated with reticular fibers. The patient received postoperative brachytherapy, followed by six cycles of chemotherapy according to the CHOP regimen. There is no evidence of lymphoma recurrence 13 months after the surgery. Our analysis of the reported cases indicates that common bile duct non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a rapidly progressive disease, terminating in death within a year. A complete surgical resection of the lymphoma followed by chemotherapy has shown a promising result.