Management of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy-Related Bile Duct Injuries: A Tertiary Center Experience

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC)-related bile duct injuries remains a challenging issue with major implications for patient’s outcome.

Between January 2008 and December 2012, we retrospectively analyzed the management and treatment outcomes of 90 patients with bile duct injury following LC.

Forty-seven patients (52.2%) were treated surgically while the remaining 43 patients (47.8%) underwent non-surgical intervention. Injuries of Strasberg Type A and C were significantly more frequent in the non-surgical intervention group (P = 0.016, P = 0.044) whereas Type E2 was more frequent in the definitive surgery group (P 1.3 gr/dL) significantly reduced the success rate of non-surgical interventions (P = 0.017). Presence of intraabdominal abscess significantly increased the complication rate after both definitive surgery and non-surgical interventions (P = 0.04, P = 0.023). Treatment success rates were similar in both surgery and non-surgical intervention groups according to the distribution of Strasberg injury types.

A multimodality approach is recommended in planning for patient-based treatment. Delayed referral reduces the success of nonsurgical interventions while it does not seem to significantly affect the success of surgical interventions when intraabdominal sepsis is under control.