A medical instructional film produced by the Department of Photography of King’s College Medical School Newcastle upon Tyne to demonstrate techniques developed and practices by James Dudfield Rose, the surgeon in this film, at Newcastle General Hospital. The purpose of the procedure is to provide a scientific approach to the previously common problem of persistent abdominal discomfort that appears to arise in the biliary system but was no resolved by the removal of the gallbladder. The aim is...

A medical instructional film produced by the Department of Photography of King’s College Medical School Newcastle upon Tyne to demonstrate techniques developed and practices by James Dudfield Rose, the surgeon in this film, at Newcastle General Hospital. The purpose of the procedure is to provide a scientific approach to the previously common problem of persistent abdominal discomfort that appears to arise in the biliary system but was no resolved by the removal of the gallbladder. The aim is to measure the pressure response of the bile duct and to determine if there is increased or decreased tone. A set of medial implements are laid out on a tray beside an operating table. The hands of the surgeon make an incision into the abdomen of a patient laid out on the operating table. The gallbladder in identified, isolated and cannulated. The common bile duct is also cannulated and tied off. Tubes are attached to the canula and a volume of liquid is injected with recording of pressure changes on a rotating cylinder. The procedure is performed a number of times recording different pressure levels on the cylinder. The gallbladder is also examined radiographically after injection of a fluid contrast medium. The x-ray appears on a wall, the surgeon looks over it.