When it’s working properly, the sphincter of Oddi (a muscle between the pancreas and small intestine) opens to allow bile and pancreatic juice to flow through and then closes again. A dysfunctional sphincter of Oddi does not open when it should (or is blocked) and leads to a backup of digestive juices that can cause bouts of severe abdominal pain and the following symptoms:
- Pain localized near the pancreas
- Jaundice caused by bile leaking into the blood stream
- Attacks of pancreatitis
Causes of this dysfunction include
- Celiac disease
- Autoimmune pancreatitis
- Bile duct stones (gallstones)
- Scarring of the bile duct
Laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder or of the sphincter may alleviate the symptoms.
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