An Artificial Bile Duct Made of Bioabsorbable Polymer: A Viable Substitute for Narrowed Portion of the Extrahepatic Bile Duct

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether an artificial bile duct made of bioabsorbable polymer could serve as a substitute for narrowed portions of the bile duct. The experiments were performed using hybrid pigs (n = 11). After laparotomy under general anesthesia, the extrahepatic bile duct was identified and ligated around the confluence with the cystic duct. A week later, repeat laparotomy was performed on the animals, and the bile duct on the hepatic side of the ligature was resected. The cut end was connected to the duodenum using a bioabsorbable artificial bile duct fabricated from a copolymer of polycaprolactone and polylactic acid fibers. The grafts were recovered for gross, histologic, and blood chemical studies at 4 months after the surgery. All recipient pigs survived until they were humanely killed for collection of the implants. A week of ligation of the extrahepatic bile duct dilated the duct to approximately 1 cm in diameter and increased total bilirubin. Total bilirubin had returned to the pre-implantation level in all animals at 4 months post implantation. Examinations of the grafts revealed complete freedom of stricture and the regeneration of a neo-bile duct of approximately 1 cm in diameter from the graft site in 10 of 11 animals. Gross observation of the graft from the 1 remaining animal revealed stricture at the anastomosis site and poor bile duct epithelization. We have concluded that this bioabsorbable polymer bile duct can serve as a replacement for narrowed portions of the bile duct.