Prolonged secretion of lithogenic bile after cholecystectomy.

Hepatic bile samples were obtained from 8 subjects 1 1/2 to 23 years after cholecystectomy for presumed cholesterol gallstones. The content of cholesterol, bile acids and lecithin was determined for each bile sample and compared to the values found in gallbladder bile in 15 control subjects undergoing cholecystectomy for pure and mixed cholesterol stones. Plot of the data on triangular coordinates and subsequent determination of lithogenic index showed that bile was supersaturated with cholesterol in both groups of patients. The cholesterol content of bile remained at supersaturated levels following cholecystectomy and showed no tendency to return toward normal levels with the passage of time.