A gallbladder with the "hidden cystic duct": A brief overview of various surgical techniques of the Calot's triangle dissection

[Modern principles of safety in laparoscopic cholecystectomy]

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has many advantages over open surgery. Nevertheless, incidence of intraoperative bile duct injury is consistently higher for laparoscopic technique. This review is devoted to modern principles of identifying the anatomical elements in hepatoduodenal ligament and rules for safe tissue dissection in this area. The last ones mainly consist in formation of «critical view of safety» before clipping and transection of tubular structures. The key for «critical view of safety» is mobilization of fatty and fibrous tissues of hepatocystic triangle starting from the lower third of the gallbladder.

Is a difficult gallbladder worth removing in its entirety? - Outcomes of subtotal cholecystectomy

Background:

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy one of the commonest procedures performed worldwide isn't spared from the risks of disastrous iatrogenic complications. In patients with obscured anatomy, the idea of performing a safe total cholecystectomy can be hindered with a high risk of biliovascular injuries. In such a situation STC (subtotal cholecystectomy) comes to the rescue, where the diseased organ can be tackled fairly, without any further damage.

Aims and Objectives:

The primary aim was to look at the immediate and long-term outcomes of subtotal cholecystectomy. Subgroup analysis was done based on demographics, indications and surgical approach.

Materials and Methods:

We reviewed our prospectively maintained computerized operation database over nine years. STC was defined as leaving behind any portion of gallbladder other than the cystic duct. They were subclassified as per the description given by Palanivelu. Patients were evaluated with laboratory and radiological assessment.

Results:

A total of 70 out of 602 patients (11.6%) underwent STC. Dense adhesion at the calot's was the most important reason for STC. Subtype B was the most common. Nine patients (12.85%) had a bile leak in the postoperative period. There were no biliary/vascular injuries and 30-day mortality was zero. 22.8% developed SSI (surgical site infection). Over a median follow up of 38 months (range 5-98), clinical examination, LFT and USG revealed no abnormality in any of the patients.

Conclusion:

Subtotal cholecystectomy is a useful alternative during difficult gallbladder surgery. It should be considered early into the procedure preferably prior to conversion to an open procedure. Biliovascular injuries can be avoided and the Immediate and long-term outcomes are acceptable.

A practical new strategy to prevent bile duct injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A single-center experience with 5539 cases

Purpose

Bile duct injury (BDI) is a catastrophic complication of cholecystectomy, and misidentification of the cystic anatomy is considered to be the main cause. Although several techniques have been developed to prevent BDI, such as the “critical view of safety”, the infundibular technique, the rates remain higher during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) than during open surgery. We, here, propose a practical new strategy for ductal identification, that can help to prevent laparoscopic bile duct injury.

Methods

A retrospective study of 5539 patients who underwent LC from March 2007 to February 2019 at a single institution was conducted. The gallbladder infundibulum was classified by its position located on an imaginary clock with the gallbladder neck as the center point of the dial, 3-o’clock position as cranial, 6-o’clock as dorsal, 9-o’clock as caudal, and 12-o’clock as ventral, as well as the axial position. Patient demographics, pathologic variables and infundibulum classification were evaluated. Detailed analysis of ductal identification based on gallbladder infundibulum position was performed in this study. All infundibulum positions were recorded by intraoperative laparoscopic video or photographic images.

Results

All the patients successfully underwent LC during the study period. No conversion or serious complications such as biliary injury occurred. Gallbladders with infundibulum of 3-o’clock position, 6-o’clock position, 9-o’clock position, 12-o’clock position, axial position were 12.3%, 23.4%, 28.0%, 4.2%, and 32.1%, respectively. The 3-o’clock and 12-o’clock position were pitfalls that might cause biliary injury.

Conclusion

The gallbladder infundibulum as a navigator is useful for ductal identification to reduce BDI and improve the safety of LC.

Haptic simulation of tissue tearing during surgery

We present a method for the real-time, interactive simulation of tissue tearing during laparoscopic surgery. The method is designed to work at haptic feedback rates (ie, around 1 kHz). Tissue tearing is simulated under the general framework of continuum damage mechanics. The problem is stated as a general, multidimensional parametric problem, which is solved by means of proper generalized decomposition methods. One of the main novelties is the reduction of history-dependent problems, such as damage mechanics, by resorting to an approach in which a reduced-order field of initial damage values is considered as a parameter of the formulation. We focus on the laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure as a general example of the performance of the method.

Near-infrared fluorescence cholangiography assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy versus conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy (FALCON trial): study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Misidentification of the extrahepatic bile duct anatomy during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the main cause of bile duct injury. Easier intraoperative recognition of the biliary anatomy may be accomplished by using near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging after an intravenous injection of indocyanine green (ICG). Promising results were reported for successful intraoperative identification of the extrahepatic bile ducts compared to conventional laparoscopic imaging. However, routine use of ICG fluorescence laparoscopy has not gained wide clinical acceptance yet due to a lack of high-quality clinical data. Therefore, this multicentre randomised clinical study was designed to assess the potential added value of the NIRF imaging technique during LC.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A multicentre, randomised controlled clinical trial will be carried out to assess the use of NIRF imaging in LC. In total, 308 patients scheduled for an elective LC will be included. These patients will be randomised into a NIRF imaging laparoscopic cholecystectomy (NIRF-LC) group and a conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy (CLC) group. The primary end point is time to 'critical view of safety' (CVS). Secondary end points are 'time to identification of the cystic duct (CD), of the common bile duct, the transition of CD in the gallbladder and the transition of the cystic artery in the gallbladder, these all during dissection of CVS'; 'total surgical time'; 'intraoperative bile leakage from the gallbladder or cystic duct'; 'bile duct injury'; 'postoperative length of stay', 'complications due to the injected ICG'; 'conversion to open cholecystectomy'; 'postoperative complications (until 90 days postoperatively)' and 'cost-minimisation'.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of Maastricht University Medical Center/Maastricht University; the trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. The findings of this study will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02558556.