[Validation of intraoperative diagnostic criteria in the differentiation of benign stenoses of Vater's papilla].

The following criteria were recorded from complex intraoperative bile duct diagnosis and were recalculated for validation: residual pressure, flow per minute, choledochal width, and possible probing of the papilla. A comparison was made between 189 cases of papillary stenosis without accompanying choledocholithiasis, on the one hand, and cases with non-contributory choledochus, on the other, for the period from 1970 to 1984. Probabilities by which presence of papillary stenosis could be established were 83 per cent by debitomanometry or 91 per cent by enlargement of choledochus in conjunction with possible probing of the papilla. With all four criteria tested, the probability went up to 99.9 per cent. Diagnosis of papillary stenosis thus proved to be possible with high probability by combination of several examination methods.