QUESTION: We visited a friend in the hospital who is distressed not only by his condition, but by the conflicting information he has been given.
He is all yellow, and was told at first that it was a liver infection.
Now he is being told it is an obstruction and that he must have surgery.
Is there any way you can untangle this situation for us?
ANSWER: Your "yellowed" friend is displaying the effects of a condition called jaundice, which occurs when pigments found normally in the bile find their way into the blood stream and thus to the skin.
That's causing the yellow color, but it only indicates that a disease process is going on without specifically telling us which one.
Jaundice is caused by a large number of diseases, certainly the most common being viral hepatitis.
Most physicians would rank it the number 1 possible cause of jaundice, and then begin the difficult process of determining the exact reason for the jaundice.
Besides a variety of infections, such as malaria, mononucleosis, yellow fever and others, the yellowing condition may be caused by drugs used to control other medical conditions.
More common, though, are those conditions which block the flow of bile from the liver to the portion of the small intestines known as the duodenum.
These situations range from blockage by gall stones in the small ducts through which the bile normally flows to the closing of these small and delicate tubes by cancerous growths of the pancreas and of the ducts themselves.
We can use blood tests to distinguish between this type of jaundice, called obstructive jaundice, and the type caused by infections. X-ray procedures help to pinpoint the exact location of the blockage, and then it is up to the surgeon to remove the cause.
This surgery can be long and difficult, and your friend is entitled to a most careful explanation of all that is involved.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
