Resource Utilization and Medicare Spending Among Beneficiaries with Bile Duct Injuries.

Bile duct injuries are the most dreaded complication associated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Recent collective reviews have outlined the management of bile duct injuries, but only few have reported on the significance of concomitant injuries of the right hepatic artery. This study was conducted to compare the outcome of patients with isolated bile duct injuries and patients with additional vascular injuries. From January 1990 to February 2002, a total of 54 patients with bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy were surgically treated in our institution. In 46 patients a Roux-Y hepaticojejunostomy was performed. Eight patients underwent other surgical procedures and were not included in the statistical analysis. 11 patients had a concomitant vascular injury. Multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of vascular injuries. The rate of postoperative biliary complications was 21.7 % for all patients. Patients with combined bile duct and hepatic arterial injuries had a higher risk for the development of a biliary complication (6 of 11 patients (54.5 %) versus 4 of 35 patients (11.4 %); p = 0.006). After a median follow-up time of 61 months (range, 2-164 months) a successful overall outcome was achieved in 42 of 46 patients (91.3 %), which included the patients who required additional endoscopic or surgical treatment after primary reconstruction. The long-term outcome was successful in 9 of 11 patients (81.8 %) with combined bile duct and hepatic arterial injuries and in 33 of 35 patients (94.3 %) with solitary bile duct injury. The outcome of patients with combined bile duct and arterial injuries is worse than in patients with isolated bile duct injuries. We therefore recommend the evaluation of patients with major bile duct injuries for additional vascular injuries. Vascular reconstruction should be performed when ever possible in early recognised injuries to prevent late complications.

Common bile duct (CBD) injury during cholecystectomy is a significant source of patient morbidity, but its impact on survival is unclear. To demonstrate the relation between CBD injury and survival and to identify the factors associated with improved survival among Medicare beneficiaries. Retrospective study using Medicare National Claims History Part B data (January 1, 1992, through December 31, 1999) linked to death records and to the American Medical Association's (AMA's) Physician Masterfile. Records with a procedure code for cholecystectomy were reviewed and those with an additional procedure code for repair of the CBD within 365 days were defined as having a CBD injury. Survival after cholecystectomy, controlling for patient (sex, age, comorbidity index, disease severity) and surgeon (procedure year, case order, surgeon specialty) characteristics. Of the 1 570 361 patients identified as having had a cholecystectomy (62.9% women), 7911 patients (0.5%) had CBD injuries. The entire population had a mean (SD) age of 71.4 (10.2) years. Thirty-three percent of all patients died within the 9.2-year follow-up period (median survival, 5.6 years; interquartile range, 3.2-7.4 years), with 55.2% of patients without and 19.5% with a CBD injury remained alive. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for death during the follow-up period was significantly higher (2.79; 95% confidence interval [CI]; 2.71-2.88) for patients with a CBD injury than those without CBD injury. The hazard significantly increased with advancing age and comorbidities and decreased with the experience of the repairing surgeon. The adjusted hazard of death during the follow-up period was 11% greater (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02-1.20) if the repairing surgeon was the same as the injuring surgeon. The association between CBD injury during cholecystectomy and survival among Medicare beneficiaries is stronger than suggested by previous reports. Referring patients with CBD injuries to surgeons or institutions with greater experience in CBD repair may represent a system-level opportunity to improve outcome.

Common bile duct (CBD) injury is the most serious complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Recently, laparoscopic techniques have been used in the management of postoperative bile leak and CBD injury; this literature has not been reviewed. We reviewed the literature on CBD injury, the approach to its diagnosis and management, and reports of laparoscopic management techniques. We combined this review with our experience in laparoscopic methods to highlight diagnostic and therapeutic options. Laparoscopic techniques can be used to prevent, diagnose and treat CBD injuries. Intraoperatively, CBD injury can be prevented in the case of short cystic duct with the use of a loop ligature or transfixing suture, and it can be diagnosed using intraoperative cholangiography or other visualization techniques. When CBD injury is suspected postoperatively, repeat laparoscopy can be used to control sepsis with abdominal washout; as a diagnostic tool to guide management; and, in some settings, as a therapeutic tool for suturing small duct leaks, drain insertion and postoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with sphincterotomy. Definitive laparoscopic repair is possible when certain criteria are met. Open surgery should be considered when the CBD is small, the injury occurred more than 72 hours previously, injury or anatomy are complex, port positioning is awkward for repair, or local experience is limited with laparoscopic management. There is an emerging role for laparoscopy in the management of CBD injuries. More case reports and series are needed to show the safety and efficacy of this technique, encourage its wider adoption, and allow outcomes assessment on a larger scale.

Intraoperative cholangiography during cholecystectomy among hospitalized medicare beneficiaries with non-neoplastic biliary disease

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has replaced open cholecystectomy as the standard treatment for cholelithiasis. However, it is associated with a higher incidence of common bile duct (CBD) injury. (LC) has become the preferred treatment for cholelithiasis; however, it carries a higher risk of common bile duct (CBD) injury compared to open cholecystectomy. It is a largely replaced open cholecystectomy (OC) but is associated with higher rates of common bile duct (CBD) injury. This study compares the frequency of CBD injury between the two techniques. To compare the frequency of CBD injury in open cholecystectomy versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methodology: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Department of Surgery, People Medical College Hospital Nawabshah, from July 1 to December 31, 2020. A total of 320 patients aged 20–50 years with cholelithiasis were randomly divided into two groups: 160 underwent open cholecystectomy and 160 laparoscopic cholecystectomy CBD injuries were diagnosed clinically (jaundice) and confirmed via MRCP. Frequency of CBD injury was observed and analyzed statistically using SPSS 22.0, with significance at p ≤ 0.05. Results: Out of 320 patients (160 in each group) Mean age was 33.5±8.7 years; 54.7% were female, CBD injury was observed in 3.8% of patients in the open cholecystectomy group compared 9.4% of the laparoscopic group. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.042). Indicating a significantly higher rate in laparoscopic procedures and those with diabetes had higher injury rates in the LC group. Conclusion: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is associated with a higher frequency of CBD injury compared to open cholecystectomy. Enhanced surgical training and safety protocols are essential.

Management and outcome of patients with combined bile duct and hepatic arterial injuries after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

During the last decade laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has become established as the gold standard. The drawbacks in the form of bile duct (BD) injuries have also come into focus. We present the results of a prospective, consecutive series of 1568 patients with reference to BD injuries regarding risks, management, and preventive measures. The significant complications of all patients operated upon with LC between October 1999 and December 2003 were recorded prospectively. BD injuries were classified according to Strasberg into types A-E. Transected major BDs, injuries of type E, were regarded as "major" injuries and types A, B, C, and D were "minor" injuries. Major BDs were transected in five patients (0.3%), three of whom had acute cholecystitis. In the two patients operated on electively, the BD injuries were detected postoperatively, while they were detected intraoperatively when the operation was performed of necessity. The BDs were all reconstructed with a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. Two patients had anastomotic strictures. Minor BD injuries were encountered in 19 patients (1.2%). The 13 patients with leakage from the cystic duct or gallbladder bed, injury type A, were treated by endoscopic (ERC) stenting without sequelae. Five patients sustained a lateral BD injury, type D; they were treated with a simple suture over a T-tube (at LC) or endoscopically (ERC) without further problems. A transected aberrant right hepatic BD, type C injury, was due to its small-caliber sutured. Minor BD injuries could be managed at the primary hospital if the endoscopic expertise were at hand. Acute cholecystitis seems to be a risk factor for BD injuries.

Recent collective reviews have outlined when and how surgeons should treat patients with bile duct injuries after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). However, little is described about other injuries combined with bile duct injuries, for example, hepatic arterial injury and secondary biliary cirrhosis. Fifteen patients with bile duct injuries following LC were referred and surgically treated from 1990 to 1998 in our institution. We report how patients with hepatic arterial injury combined with bile duct injuries during LC were treated. The present study also reports unusual complicated situations: one patient with biliary cirrhosis referred 4 years after LC, another treated with internal biliary metallic stent referred 2.5 years after LC, and another with isolated right hepatic ductal injury. Short- and long-term surgical outcomes after biliary repair were compared between simply referred patients and those with complicated history. Patients who were referred several years after LC and who were referred after primary hepaticojejunostomy were included with patients with complicated history (n = 4, group B), and the other patients were included with patients with simple history (n = 11, group A). Simultaneous right hepatic arterial occlusion was observed in 3 of these 15 patients, and arterial reconstruction was performed in 2 of the 3 patients in addition to biliary reconstruction. No postoperative complication occurred in these three patients. The patient with isolated injury of the right hepatic duct and the other with biliary cirrhosis were successfully treated with hepaticojejunostomy. The other patient treated with biliary stent underwent hepaticojejunostomy but a second operation was required because of later stenosis. Mean hospital stay was significantly longer in group B (30.3 +/- 6.9 days) than in group A (18.5 +/- 2.5 days, p< 0.05). Rehospitalization was more frequent in group B than in group A (p < 0.01). However, long-term outcome was successful in both groups. The present results showed that arterial reconstruction should be performed when the distal right hepatic artery can be exposed and reconstructed, and suggested that patients with bile duct injuries during LC should be immediately referred to surgical institutions in which surgeons have adequate experience of bile duct repair and hepatic arterial reconstruction.

Intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) may decrease the risk of common bile duct (CBD) injury during cholecystectomy by helping to avoid misidentification of the CBD. To characterize the relationship of IOC use and CBD injury while controlling for patient and surgeon characteristics. Retrospective nationwide cohort analysis of Medicare patients undergoing cholecystectomy from January 1, 1992, to December 31, 1999. Patients were identified using Current Procedural Terminology codes from the Medicare Part B depository. Common bile duct injury was defined by a second surgical procedure to repair the CBD injury within 1 year of cholecystectomy. Surgeon demographic features were obtained from matching the Medicare Part B data to the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile database. Frequency of CBD injury in patients who did and did not have IOC performed during cholecystectomy, controlling for patient-level (age, sex, race, and case complexity) and surgeon-level (surgeon's age, sex, race, year of surgical procedure, case order, percentage of IOC use in prior surgical procedures, years in medical practice, board certification, and specialization) factors. The database search identified 1 570 361 cholecystectomies and 7911 CBD injuries (0.5%). Common bile duct injury was found in 2380 (0.39%) of 613 706 patients undergoing cholecystectomy with IOC and in 5531 (0.58%) of 956 655 patients undergoing cholecystectomy without IOC (unadjusted relative risk, 1.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.42-1.57). After controlling for patient-level factors and surgeon-level factors, the risk of injury was increased when IOC was not used (adjusted relative risk, 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.38-2.28). While surgeons performing IOCs routinely had a lower rate of CBD injuries than those who did not, this difference disappeared when IOC was not used. In this study of Medicare patients undergoing cholecystectomy in the 1990s, the risk of CBD injury was significantly higher when IOC was not used. Although IOCs may not prevent all CBD injuries, this study suggests that the routine use of IOC may decrease the rate of CBD injury.

Objective To explore the effective molecular mechanism of PPAR-γligands rosiglitazone to biliary ischemia-reperfusion injury in autologous liver transplantation. Method A total of 40 SD rats were randomly （random number） divided into sham operation group （SO）, ischemia - reperfusion group （Ⅰ/R）, rosiglitazone （ROS） and GW9662 group, with 10 ones in each. The models, rat biliary ischemiareperfusion injury of autologous liver transplantation, were made by modified two-cuff technique. Tissues of the liver and bile ducts and blood of those models were evaluated by pathological and biochemical methods to make sure the models were made successfully or not. SO group suffered autologous orthotopic liver transplantation, and L/R group suffered both that and ischemia-reperfusion. ROS group were injected rosiglitazone （0.3mg/kg） via portal vein after having been done all as I/R. GW9662 group suffered all as ROS, and 10min later ,they were injected GW9662（0.3mg/kg） via portal vein. 4h after the experiment, tissues of livers and bilary ducts were taken to be tested by immunohistochemistry method, and the blood punctured from the right ventricular were taken to be determined by ELISA. ANOVA was used for statistical analysis.Results IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 were mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and bile duct cells,while NF-κB was expressed both in the cytoplasm and nuclei. Expression of those proteins in L/R and GW9662 group was increased, significantly higher when compared to the SO and ROS （P 〈 0.05）. IL-1β,TNF-α and IL-6 in rat serum were simultaneously increased, and significantly higher than SO（P 〈0.05）.Compared with the SO, expressions of the IL-1 β,TNF-α and IL-6 were not significantly changed in ROS （P〉 0.05 ）but significantly increased in GW9662. Conclusions PPAR-γ ligand rosiglitazone took protective role in biliary ischemia-reperfusion injury in autologous liver transplantation. The mechanism correlates with the release of the IL-lα, IL-1β and TNF-α and other inflammatory mediators, which decreased as the expression of NF-κB inhibited by its antagonist. Key words: PPAR-γ; Rosiglitazone; Aotologous liver transplantation; Biliary injury; Ischemiareperfusion; lschemic type biliary lesion; NF-κB; Systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Major bile duct injury is an important therapeutic problem that can be associated with simultaneous injury to the hepatic artery. Limited information exists regarding the course of patients who have combined bile duct and arterial injuries. To compare the management and outcome of isolated bile duct injuries with bile duct and hepatic artery injuries. Since 1991, 13 patients have undergone reconstruction of right and left hepatic confluence or proximal bile duct injuries. At the time of bile duct injury, 4 of these patients had simultaneous occlusion or extirpation of the right hepatic or common hepatic artery. All patients underwent reconstruction of the biliary tract with hepaticojejunostomies. The immediate and long-term outcomes of the patients with and without hepatic artery injury were compared. In the immediate postoperative period, 3 of 4 patients with combined injuries had hepatic necrosis and/or abscesses with 2 patients requiring transcutaneous or operative drainage. This problem was not diagnosed in patients with isolated bile duct injuries. None of the biliary anastomoses have failed in the patients with isolated bile duct injuries while 50% of the anastomoses in patients with combined injuries have caused recurrent problems following reconstruction. Patients with major bile duct injuries should be evaluated for concomitant hepatic arterial injury as management and outcome may be influenced by the absence of arterial blood flow to the injured bile ducts and to the liver.

Nature, aetiology and outcome of bile duct injuries after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Bile duct injury can occur more frequently during laparoscopic cholecystectomy than in open cholecystectomy. Three cases of common bile or hepatic duct injuries occurred in a series of eighty laparoscopic cholecystectomies; In case 1, the common bile duct was misidentified as the cystic duct. In case 2, bile peritonitis occurred on the fourth postoperative day caused by necrosis of the common hepatic duct involving the cautery surrounding it. In case 3, a bile leak occurred due to an incision at the confluence of the cystic and common duct. Dissection of the cystic duct at the infundibulum of the gallbladder, blunt dissection of the Calot's triangle, the handling of clips with special attention for safety were thought to be necessary in order to lower the risk of bile duct injury. Preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERCP) is recommended to avoid bile duct injury.

Bile duct injuries in combination with major vascular injuries may cause serious morbidity and may even require liver resection in some cases. We present two case studies of patients requiring right hepatic lobectomy after bile duct and right hepatic artery injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Two patients sustained combined major bile duct and hepatic artery injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Surgical management consisted of immediate hepaticojejunostomy with reconstruction of the artery in one patient and hepaticojejunostomy alone in the other patient. In both cases the initial postoperative course was uncomplicated. After 4 and 6 months both patients suffered recurrent cholangitis due to anastomotic stricture. Both developed secondary biliary cirrhosis and required right hepatic lobectomy with left hepaticojejunostomy. The patients remain well 31 months and 4.5 years after surgery. The outcome of bile duct reconstruction may be worse in the presence of combined biliary and vascular injuries than in patients with an intact blood supply of the bile ducts. We recommend arterial reconstruction when possible in early recognized injuries to prevent late strictures. Short-term follow-up is most important for early recognition of postoperative strictures and to avoid further complications such as secondary biliary cirrhosis.

Common bile duct (CBD) injury is a serious complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Predictors of this adverse outcome have not been well documented. Surgeon experience and the use of intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) are associated with a decreased rate of major CBD injury during LC. A retrospective population-based cohort study. Washington State hospital discharge database reports from 1991 through 1998. Discharge reports were searched for International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, procedure codes consistent with LC and then evaluated for procedure codes for CBD repair and reconstruction within 90 days of LC. The rate of CBD injury in patients undergoing LC based on the surgeon's experience and IOC use. In all, 30 630 LCs and 76 major CBD injuries (2.5/1000 operations) were identified in this analysis. There were no significant differences between injured and noninjured patients in demographics, disease, payer status, or hospital variables. A CBD injury occurred in 3.2 of 1000 LCs in the early case order of surgeons compared with 1.7 per 1000 at later points (P = .01) (relative risk, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.44-2.88). The rate of injury in LCs performed without IOC was 3.3 per 1000 compared with 2.0 per 1000 in LCs with IOC (P = .02) (relative risk, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.6). Surgeon's experience and IOC use were independent predictors of injury. The rate of CBD injury is significantly lower when IOC is used. This effect is magnified during the early experience of surgeons. Systematic use of IOC may significantly reduce the rate of CBD injury.