Jejunal loop obstruction at the ligament of Treitz: a distinct radiological and clinical picture of recurrence after subtotal pancreatectomy.

Of 99 patients operated on with subtotal pancreatectomy due to ampullary carcinoma, five had a local recurrence in the pancreatic bed at the ligament of Treitz. The patients all had distinct symptoms: recurrent bouts of fever, general malaise, and rapid loss of weight. They had little pain, but all were jaundiced in spite of absence of marked compression of the bile ducts. Computed tomography or ultrasound could not detect the small, local recurrence that was obstructing the jejunal loop 10-15 cm distal to the hepaticojejunostomy, but as an indirect sign of the recurrence, the distended small bowel loop proximal to the ligament of Treitz was clearly seen in all patients.