A case of right hepatic duct entering cystic duct successfully treated by laparoscopic subtotal cholecystectomy through preoperatively placed biliary stent

Is there a place for endoscopic management in post-cholecystectomy iatrogenic bile duct injuries?

In this editorial we comment on the article by Emara et al published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. Previously, surgery was the primary treatment for bile duct injuries (BDI). The treatment of BDI has advanced due to technological breakthroughs and minimally invasive procedures. Endoscopic and percutaneous treatments have largely supplanted surgery as the primary treatment for most instances in recent years. Patient management, including the specific technique, is typically impacted by local knowledge and the kind and severity of the injury. Endoscopic therapy is a highly successful treatment for postoperative benign bile duct stenosis and offers superior long-term outcomes compared to surgical correction. Based on the damage features of BDI, therapeutic options include endoscopic duodenal papillary sphincterotomy, endoscopic nasobiliary drainage, and endoscopic biliary stent implantation.

Cystic duct entering to right hepatic duct; a case report with literature review

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE

Surgeons may mistakenly consider the right hepatic duct as cystic duct, ligate, and divide it.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 58-year-old woman presented with right upper quadrant (RUQ) abdominal pain, nausea, and RUQ tenderness, but negative Murphy's sign. Common bile duct was 10 mm based on abdominal ultrasound. Common hepatic duct and intrahepatic ducts consist of multiple common bile duct (CBD) stones with sludge and multiple small gallstones. Different diagnostic procedures (Computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)) showed the connection of the cystic duct to the right hepatic duct. Balloon sweeping for stones extraction and then laparoscopic cholecystectomy was successfully done.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION

Radiologic evaluations like MRCP, CT scan, ERCP or sonography before or during the surgery/endoscopic interventions seem logical at least for selected patients.

CONCLUSION

Before endoscopic/surgical interventions we need to be sure about the anatomy of biliary tree by a suitable para-clinic evaluation.

A case of accessory hepatic duct entering cystic duct successfully treated by laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholecystolithiasis

Although laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a well-established surgical procedure, an accessory hepatic duct (AcHD) entering the cystic duct is poorly understood. A 77-year-old woman with symptomatic cholecystlithiasis was referred to our hospital. Abdominal ultrasonography indicated several small stones in the gall bladder. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) did not reveal an anomalous cystic duct. Dissecting the gall bladder bed at operation, AcHD entering the cystic duct was suspected. Intraoperative cholangiography revealed that B5 branch entered the cystic duct. We ligated the AcHD, and divided it. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was completed, and the patient was discharged without any complication. A week after the operation, MRCP showed that ventral branch of B5 was dilated. The patient showed no symptom for more than a year. The present case exhibited extremely rare AcHD entering the cystic duct, which was hardly recognized before surgery. It is possible to recognize such anomalous variants with standard laparoscopic approach based on 2018 Tokyo Guidelines and with attention to the possibilities of AcHD entering the cystic duct.

Laparoscopic remnant cholecystectomy for calculi in the remnant gallbladder following subtotal-cholecystectomy: a report of two cases

Two cases of laparoscopic remnant cholecystectomy using near-infrared fluorescence cholangiography (NIFC) for remnant gallbladder calculi following subtotal-cholecystectomy are reported. Case 1: a 36-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with acute abdomen. Computed tomography showed remnant gallbladder calculi, with detected no other findings as the cause of the abdominal pain. For intraoperative exploration of the biliary anatomy, 0.25 mg/kg of indocyanine green (ICG) was administered intravenously the day before the operation. NIFC clearly showed the common bile duct and enabled safe laparoscopic remnant cholecystectomy. She was free from symptoms after the operation. Case 2: a 40-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with epigastralgia due to remnant gallbladder calculi after open cholecystectomy. ICG was administered intravenously the day before the operation. Severe adhesions were observed in the upper abdominal cavity and there was tight adherence of the duodenum to the remnant gallbladder. NIFC showed a clear margin that appeared to be the margin between the duodenum and remnant gallbladder. However, dissection of the margin observed by NIFC caused perforation of the duodenum. The clear margin seen with NIFC was likely due to visualization of the gallbladder through the duodenum. Although NIFC is a useful modality for confirming the intraoperative biliary anatomy, it is important not to rely too heavily on NIFC alone, which may lead to misinterpretation of the anatomy.