Post Cholecystectomy Bile Duct Injuries: Current Therapeutic Option

Abstract

Calculous biliary disease is a common condition in Chile. Over 60.000 cholecystectomies are performed annually, making gallstone disease one of the most common digestive health problems. The treatment of calculous biliary disease has evolved over the last 2 decades. With the development of laparoscopic technology in the late 1980s, new techniques for cholecystectomy were introduced. By the early 1990s, laparoscopic cholecystectomy had replaced open cholecystectomy in the operative management of gallbladder stone disease. Unfortunately, the widespread application of laparoscopic cholecystectomy has led to a concurrent rise in the incidence of major bile duct injuries. Reports have estimated the incidence has risen from 0.1-0.2 to 0.5-0.7%. Although, exponential training of surgeons in minimally invasive surgery has led to decrease this numbers again, bile duct injuries still constitute one of the most serious complications in surgery, generating a great impact on the patient’s quality of life, and even health costs that can be devastating. The management of patients following major bile duct injurie is a surgical challenge, often requiring the skills of experienced hepatobiliary surgeons at tertiary referral centers. In this setting, the most important action is to routinely maximize prevention measures. However, once injury has occurred, patient’s future depends directly on the correct judgment of the surgeon, both to make an early diagnosis and to choose the best therapeutic confrontation. The objective of this article is to present the different preventive and therapeutic options available when this complication occurs.