Liver resection in management of post-cholecystectomy biliary injury: a case series.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Management of post-cholecystectomy bile duct injuries may, in certain cases, require hepatectomy. In the literature, indications for hepatectomy in this setting are not clear.

METHODOLOGY: A retrospective review of our database for patients referred for post-cholecystectomy bile duct injuries from January 2003 to January 2008 was performed.

RESULTS

We present three cases of hepatectomy among 45 patients (6.7%) referred for post-cholecystectomy bile duct injuries. Two of these patients had been referred after one or more previous attempts at operative repair in an outside hospital. In one patient, the decision to perform hepatectomy was based on the proximal pattern of biliary stricture aggravated by disruption of the right hepatic artery, leading to irreversible secondary sclerosing cholangitis. Biliary stricture also involved bifurcation and was complicated by liver atrophy in the 2 other patients. Despite complication(s) in 2 out of 3 patients, the long-term outcome was good in all cases.

CONCLUSIONS

In our experience, the indication for hepatectomy in post-cholecystectomy bile duct injuries, combined with vascular injuries and liver atrophy in symptomatic patients.