Endoscopic management of postoperative bile leak

Endoscopic management of bile leaks after liver transplantation: An analysis of two high-volume transplant centers

Background

Bile leak after liver transplantation (LT) is commonly treated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP); however, there are limited data regarding the optimal treatment strategy.

Objective

We aimed to examine the role of ERCP in LT recipients with bile leaks at two large institutions.

Methods

We reviewed all ERCPs performed in LT recipients with bile leak and duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis at two high-volume transplant centers.

Results

Eighty patients were included. Forty-seven (59%) patients underwent ERCP with plastic stent placement (with or without sphincterotomy) and 33 patients (41%) underwent sphincterotomy alone. Complete resolution was obtained in 94% of the stent group vs. 58% of the sphincterotomy group (p < 0.01). There was no difference in three-month survival among both groups. Percutaneous transhepatic therapy and surgery were required in 4% and 6% in the stent group vs. 12% and 42% in the sphincterotomy group, respectively (p = 0.22 and p < 0.001). The only predictive factor of bile leak resolution was stent placement.

Conclusion

ERCP with plastic stent placement is highly successful and more effective than sphincterotomy alone for post-LT bile leak treatment. These results indicate that ERCP and plastic stent placement should be considered the standard of care for the treatment of bile leaks in LT.

Endoscopic management of biliary complications after partial liver resection in children

BACKGROUND

Biliary complications after liver surgery are difficult to manage. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with stenting of the common bile duct is not commonly practiced in children for this purpose. The aim of this retrospective review is to evaluate the role of ERCP as both a diagnostic and a therapeutic tool in the management of biliary complications after liver resection in children.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The charts of all patients from 0 to 18 years old who underwent partial liver resection in a tertiary children's hospital in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between 2000 and 2010 were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Forty-five children (median age: 3.6 years, range: 2 months-17 years) underwent partial liver resection. Post-operative biliary complications occurred in 13 children. Ten patients were suffering from bile leakage. Eight of them underwent ERCP with stent placement after which leakage stopped in 5 patients. Three patients presented with a post-operative biliary tract stricture. ERCP with dilation and stent placement was performed in 2 of them, which solved the problem in one patient. ERCP demonstrated the nature (bile leak and/or biliary tract stricture(s)), extent, and location of the lesion in 8 of 10 children. There were no serious procedure related complications. Rescue procedures in the other patients included hepaticojejunostomy and liver transplant.

CONCLUSION

ERCP with stenting of the common bile duct has a diagnostic and therapeutic role in the management of bile leaks after partial liver resection in children. The value of ERCP in the management of a stricture of the biliary tract is less conclusive.

A ten-year study on non-surgical treatment of postoperative bile leakage

AIM: To summarize systematically our ten-year experience in non-surgical treatment of postoperative bile leakage, and explore its methods and indications.

METHODS: The clinical data of 57 patients with postoperative bile leakage treated non-surgically from January 1991 to December 2000 were reviewed retrospectively.

RESULTS: The site of the leakage was mainly the disrupted or damaged fistulous tracts of T tube in 25 patients (43.9%), the fossae of gallbladder in 14 cases (24.6%), the cut surface of liver in 7 cases (12.3%), and it was undetectable in the other 2 cases. Besides bile leakage, the wrong ligation of bile ducts was found in 3 patients, residual stones of the distal bile duct in 5 patients, benign papillary strictures in 3, and biloma resulting from bile collections in 2. The diagnoses were made according to the history of surgery, clinical situation, abdominal paracentesis, ultrasonography, ERCP, PTC, MRI/MRCP, gastroscopy and percutaneous fistulography. All 57 patients were treated non-surgically at the beginning of bile leakage. The non-surgical methods included keeping original drainage unobstructed, percutaneous abdominal paracentesis or drainage, percutaneous transhepatic cholangial/biliary drainage (PTCD/PTBD), endoscopic management, traditional Chinese medicine and so on. Of the 57 patients, 2 patients died, 5 were converted to reoperation later, the other 50 were directly cured by non-surgical methods without any complication. The cure rate of the non-surgery was 82.5% (50/57).

CONCLUSION: Many nonoperative methods are available to treat postoperative bile leakage. Non-surgical treatment may serve as the first choice for the treatment of bile leakage for its advantages in higher cure rate, convenience and safety in practice. It is important to choose the specific non-surgical method according to the volume, site of bile leakage and patient's condition.

Ethanol injection therapy of an isolated bile duct associated with a biliary-cutaneous fistula

Bile leakage after hepatic resection often results in the formation of a biliary-cutaneous fistula. Such a fistula, when caused by an isolated bile duct in the remnant liver, can be intractable. We report a successful case of ethanol injection therapy of an isolated bile duct. A 73-year-old man underwent right hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. Bile leakage occurred after surgery, and the patient developed a biliary-cutaneous fistula. Fistulography revealed an isolated bile duct in the remnant portion of the caudate lobe without communication to the main biliary system. As conservative management with simple drainage was ineffective, injection therapy with ethanol was performed with a balloon occlusion catheter. After 11 therapy sessions, the bile duct was eradicated, and the biliary- cutaneous fistula was completely healed. The post-treatment course was uneventful. Ethanol injection therapy can be a choice for management of patients with a biliary fistula caused by an isolated bile duct.

Haemobilia

BACKGROUND

This review aims to establish whether increased use of invasive procedures and the trend toward conservative management of major trauma has resulted in an increased incidence of haemobilia.

METHOD

A Medline (http://igm.nlm.nih.gov/)-based search of the English language literature from January 1996 to December 1999 inclusive was performed using the keywords haemobilia, hemobilia, haematobilia and hematobilia. The presentation, aetiology, investigation, management and outcome of 222 cases were reviewed.

RESULTS

Two-thirds of cases were iatrogenic while accidental trauma accounted for 5 per cent. Haemobilia may be major, constituting life-threatening haemorrhage, or minor; it may present many weeks after the initial injury. Diagnosis is most commonly confirmed by angiography. Management is aimed at stopping bleeding and relieving biliary obstruction; 43 per cent of cases were managed conservatively and 36 per cent were managed by transarterial embolization (TAE). Surgery was indicated when laparotomy was performed for other reasons and for failed TAE. The mortality rate was 5 per cent.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the incidence of iatrogenic haemobilia has risen considerably, the bleeding is often minor and can be managed conservatively. When more urgent intervention is required, TAE is usually the treatment of choice. There is no evidence that the conservative management of accidental liver trauma increases the risk of haemobilia.

A comparison of common bile duct pressures after botulinum toxin injection into the sphincter of Oddi versus biliary stenting in a canine model

BACKGROUND

Botulinum toxin A (Botox) functionally paralyzes the sphincter of Oddi in both animals and humans, resulting in reduced pressures. No study, however, has specifically addressed common bile duct (CBD) pressures after Botox injection into the sphincter of Oddi with regard to treating biliary leaks and fistulae. The goals of this present study are to compare, versus biliary stenting, the change in CBD pressures after Botox injection into the sphincter of Oddi, as well as to evaluate the timing of onset and duration of these effects on sphincteric relaxation.

METHODS

After midline laparotomy in 20 mongrel dogs, a pediatric umbilical catheter was inserted into the CBD via a small cholecystotomy and attached to a water-perfused pressure transducer. After baseline CBD pressure readings, a lateral duodenotomy was performed. A total of 100 units of Botox was injected with an endoscopic sclerotherapy needle into all four quadrants of the ampulla. The dogs were randomly divided into four groups to undergo repeat laparotomy at either postoperative day 1 (group I), postoperative day 3 (group II), postoperative day 7 (group III), or postoperative day 14 (group IV). At the time of second laparotomy, a pressure-sensing catheter was reinserted into the CBD and pressures recorded. Each dog then underwent transpapillary biliary stenting with a 7 Fr. x 5 cm Cotton-Leung biliary stent and CBD pressures were again recorded.

RESULTS

CBD pressures were significantly lower as compared with baseline for all groups after Botox injection and after biliary stenting (P <0.001) In addition, no significant differences in the degree of CBD pressure reduction were identified between groups I through IV after Botox injection. The measured decrease in CBD pressure from baseline after Botox injection as compared with biliary stenting was significantly different for groups I and II (P <0.05) but not for groups III and IV.

CONCLUSION

Botox injection into the sphincter of Oddi results in significant CBD pressure reduction within 24 hours and continues for 14 days. Also, after postoperative day 3, there is no significant difference in the reduction of CBD pressure from baseline between Botox injection and biliary stenting. Based on these findings, Botox injection into the sphincter of Oddi may be a beneficial alternative to biliary stenting for the treatment of biliary leaks and fistulae.