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Management of bile duct injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy*

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 January 2012

Summary

BACKGROUND: Even with standardization and increasing experience, laparoscopic cholecystectomy still entails the risk of injury to the bile ducts. The incidence of iatrogenic bile-duct injury is currently estimated at 0.3–0.9%. In spite of the downward trend compared to the historical course, the incidence of iatrogenic bile duct injuries is still higher and so continues to be a determining factor for morbidity with LCHE. METHODS AND RESULTS: Independent of the frequency, the nature of bile duct lesions has also changed. There are not only direct injuries, similar to the direct transection of the bile duct with open LCHE, but there are also long substance defects due to resection of the hepatic duct up to or beyond the bifurcation. In one-quarter of cases, neighboring vascular structures are also injured. With inadequate treatment, the life quality suffers due to functional long-term damage reflected in cholangitis or secondary biliary cirrhosis with portal hypertension up to loss of liver function. CONCLUSIONS: Corrective surgery requires suitable surgical expertise in hepatobiliary surgery as well as institutional resources that allow an individual treatment plan based on interdisciplinary cooperation among surgeon, interventional radiologist and gastroenterologist. The long-term prognosis will depend on early diagnosis and efficient therapeutic management.

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Abbreviations

LCHE:

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

IOC:

Intraoperative cholangiography

CT:

Computer tomography

ERC:

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography

MRC:

Magnetic resonance cholangiography

EPT:

Endoscopic papillotomy

PTC:

Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiodrainage

IDD:

Intraductal dilatation

US:

Ultra sonography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    H. J. Mischinger, G. Bernhard, H. Cerwenka, H. Hauser, G. Werkgartner, P. Kornprat, A. El Shabrawi & H. Bacher

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  1. H. J. Mischinger
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  2. G. Bernhard
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  3. H. Cerwenka
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  4. H. Hauser
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  5. G. Werkgartner
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  6. P. Kornprat
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  7. A. El Shabrawi
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  8. H. Bacher
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Correspondence to H. J. Mischinger.

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*: Dedicated to Professor Karlheinz Tscheliessnigg on the occasion of his 65th birthday.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10353-012-0077-8.

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Mischinger, H., Bernhard, G., Cerwenka, H. et al. Management of bile duct injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy* . Eur Surg 43, 342–350 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10353-011-0060-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10353-011-0060-9

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