Carcinoma of head of pancreas without jaundice

Summary

A patient with a very extensive and advanced carcinoma of the head of the pancreas, which was proved by operation and autopsy, did not develop jaundice. Failure to develop jaundice was explained by the fact that at some previous time a sinus had formed between the gall bladder and the duodenum, thus allowing free drainage of the gall bladder into the duodenum, independently of the common bile duct which had been occluded by a carcinoma.