Obstructive jaundice due to retroperitoneal fibrosis involving the head of the pancreas.

A 51-year-old man with no history of liver disease had acute severe jaundice, with a serum level of total bilirubin of 27.4 mg/dl and an alkaline phosphatase level of 731 IU/L due to distal common bile duct compression from peripancreatic head fibrosis associated with retroperitoneal fibrous. Other obstructive phenomena in this patient included bilateral hydronephrosis from ureteral fibrosis encasement and testicular swelling from fibrous encasement of vessels draining the scrotum. Autopsy demonstrated massive retroperitoneal fibrosis, with angulation and compression of the distal common bile duct by fibrosis covering the head of the pancreas. The intrahepatic biliary tree was dilated because of the distal choledochal obstruction, but the proximal common bile duct was not dilated due to mural fibrosis.