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Your biliary system has been surgically connected to your small intestine.

Food reaches the entrance to the stomach through the oesophagus. The stomach stores food for a brief time and breaks it down into smaller parts. The partially digested food then passes into the duodenum. The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine. The fluid from the gallbladder, for example, gets into the small intestine via the duodenum.

The liver is also important in food digestion. Bile is produced in the liver. The bile is transported via bile ducts within the liver towards the gallbladder. The bile is collected in the gallbladder. When you eat something, bile is released into the intestine. This is what the common bile duct to the intestine is for. Together the gallbladder and the bile ducts are also known as the biliary system.

You have had an operation to create a new connection between your biliary system and your gastrointestinal system. To do this, your biliary system was connected to your duodenum.

A laparoscopy was carried out so that you could be operated on. A laparoscopy first involves making a small incision in the abdomen. A tube with a camera is pushed through this incision into the abdomen. This camera sends pictures of the inside of the abdomen to a screen. Tools such as forceps and scissors can be inserted through other small incisions in the abdomen. The operation involved then opening your abdomen via a large incision.

Sometimes the bile continues to back up, even though the bile ducts have been reconnected to the gastrointestinal system. A small tube may then be inserted into the biliary system at the end of the operation. The tube guides the bile through the abdominal wall and out into a drainage bag.