Long-term results of treatment of injuries of the sectoral and segmental bile ducts

Abstract

Surgically important variations of the sectoral and segmental bile ducts of the right lobe of the liver appear in a significant proportion of patients. Frequency of the injuries to these ducts is not known as the ligature of small ducts may pass without major consequences. Over a 27 year period (1. Jan 1974-31. Dec 2001) along with 168 patients with benign biliary strictures of type I, II, III and IV according to Bismuth's classification, we treated 13 patients with operative sectoral or segmental bile duct injuries, four patients from our institution and nine patients transferred from elsewhere. The injury was recognized at original surgery in all four patients operated in our institution. Primary repair was performed in three patients, in two patients direct end-to-end repair over T-tube and in one patient with anastomosis between the injured duct and Roux-en-Y jejunal limb, while in one patient the injured duct was ligated. In no one of nine patients transferred from elsewhere the injury was recognized during original surgery. Four patients were sent with biliary peritonitis, another four patients with external biliary fistula and one patient for pain and fever due to liver abscess. All three patients in whom the primary repair was performed had a quick and uneventful recovery and they stayed symptom-free so far. The patient in whom the injured duct was ligated died after series of complications. Four patient sent to us with biliary peritonitis were treated with relaparotomy, lavage and drainage and all developed external biliary fistula. Three of these patients had their fistula ceased spontaneously within few weeks, while in one patient the fistula didn't show signs of ceasing so that injured duct had to be anastomosed with Roux-en-Y jejunal limb. Two out of four patients sent for external biliary fistula had it ceased spontaneously, while in two patients anastomosis between duct and Roux-en-Y jejunal limb was necessary. The last, 13th patient, who had sectoral duct severed and ligated was reoperated, liver abscess drained and duct anastomosed with Roux-en-Y jejunal limb. That patient developed an anastomotic stricture a year later and he was successfully reoperated and stayed symptom-free so far. All 12 patients have been followed up from nine months to 27 years (average 9.2 years) and neither developed biliary symptoms. We conclude that the management of these injuries depends upon the time of recognition of the lesion, size of the injured duct and of the type and stage of complications.