Hemobilia: an unusual and life threatening complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Abstract

Hemobilia though rare, occurs due to abnormal vascular and biliary communication established as a result of trauma, gallstones, neoplasms, inflammatory process and vascular disorders. It can rarely complicate a laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a result of hepatic artery injury, clip migration, clip erosion, diathermy and subsequent arteriobiliary fistula, or pseudoaneurysm eroding into the extra hepatic bile ducts. A 34 years female underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis, suffered bile leak that settled on by 13th postoperative day, met with sudden right upper abdominal pain and hypovolemic shock on 15th postoperative day due to massive hemobilia arising out of rupture of pseudoaneurysm of the right hepatic artery into the biliary system. Urgent CT Angiography showed a large pseudoaneurysm of right hepatic artery branch with adjacent small collection, IHBR and CBD dilatation suggestive of hemobilia. Emergency CT guided trans-arterial hepatic artery embolization done to control hemobilia and save the patient. An immediate CT angiography for early diagnosis, in all postoperative laparoscopic cholecystectomy cases with suspicion of hemobilia due to an underlying hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm, followed by CT guided trans-arterial hepatic artery embolization forms the gold standard management in such patients.