Intraoperative cholangiography is still indicated after preoperative endoscopic cholangiography for gallstone disease

Contemporary management of common bile duct stone: What you need to know

ABSTRACT

Choledocholithiasis is a common presentation of symptomatic cholelithiasis encountered by the acute care surgeon. There is a wide spectrum of variation in management of this disease due to evolutions in laparoscopic and endoscopic techniques. Intricacies in management are related to the timing of diagnosis as well as locally available imaging modalities, surgical expertise, and ancillary advanced endoscopy and interventional radiological support. While individual patient demographics and institutional characteristics will determine management of choledocholithiasis, it is incumbent for the treating surgeon to be well versed in all manners of therapy currently available. The objective of this review is to provide an evidence-based summary of the contemporary management of choledocholithiasis.

Elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy without intraoperative cholangiography: role of preoperative magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography - a retrospective cohort study

Background

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the standard treatment for gallbladder diseases. Intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) can reduce biliary complications of LC; however, with the emergence of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), IOC nowadays is faced with unprecedented challenge. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether preoperative MRCP can safely replace IOC during elective LC in terms of retained common bile duct (CBD) stones and bile duct injury (BDI).

Methods

A retrospective study on candidates for elective LC who underwent IOC or preoperative MRCP between January 2009 and December 2014 was conducted.

Results

In the IOC group, 1972 patients underwent LC and 213 required IOC. In the MRCP group, 2268 patients underwent LC and 257 required MRCP. In the IOC group, the rate of retained CBD stones was 0.45 % without IOC and 1.41 % with IOC. In five of 157 patients who underwent IOC, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or laparoscopic CBD exploration showed no evidence of CBD stones. In the MRCP group, the rate of retained CBD stones was 0.45 % without MRCP. No patients with normal MRCP findings returned with symptomatic CBD stones during 1-year follow-up. The rate of BDIs was 0.20 % in the IOC group and 0.13 % in the MRCP group.

Conclusions

Selective use of preoperative MRCP is an effective and safe strategy when conducting elective LC to treat gallstones. LC resorting to preoperative MRCP can be performed safely without IOC, with an acceptable rate of retained CBD stones and BDIs.

Bile duct injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy without intraoperative cholangiography: a retrospective study on 1,100 selected patients

BACKGROUND

Whether to routinely or selectively use intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been a controversial issue for many years. Many authors maintain that IOC decreases the rate of biliary complications such as bile duct injuries, biliary leak, and missed common bile duct (CBD) stones. However, in contrast to these claims, many centers have opted to perform LC without IOC. In this retrospective study, the results of a series of 1,100 LCs, all of which involved major biliary complications and which were performed without the use of IOC, were reviewed.

METHODS

Data from 1,100 selected patients (728 females and 372 males) undergoing LC without the use of IOC from January 2003 to November 2011 were analyzed. One hundred and seventy LCs were performed by young surgeons during the learning curve, and 930 by surgeons with over 10 years of experience. Two techniques were used to create pneumoperitoneum: the Veress technique in 319 cases (29%) and the Hasson technique in the remaining 781 cases (71%). Patients with a suspicion of CBD stones were excluded from the study.

RESULTS

Two CBD injuries (0.18%) and three biliary leaks (0.27%) were detected among this group. Thirty-three patients (3%) needed conversion to open cholecystectomy. Missed CBD stones were reported in 4 cases (0.36%). There was no postoperative mortality.

CONCLUSION

LC can be performed safely without the use of IOC and with acceptable low rates of biliary complications. An accurate preoperative evaluation of clinical risk factors, precise operative procedures, and conversion to an open approach in doubtful cases are important measures which must be taken to prevent CBD injury.

Major biliary complications in 2,714 cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy without intraoperative cholangiography: a multicenter retrospective study

BACKGROUND

The ongoing debate between routine and selective users of intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has not yet come to an end. Routine users argue that IOC decreases the rate of biliary complications such as bile duct injury, biliary leak and missed common bile duct (CBD) stones, a claim that selective users do not fully support. On the other hand, a third policy that was adopted by many other centers is performing LC without IOC. In this retrospective study, we are exploring the results of a relatively large multicenter series of LC without IOC regarding major biliary complications.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of LC cases operated by experienced laparoscopic surgeons, without resorting to IOC, in four surgical units of university hospitals in Egypt during a 6-year period (January 2004 through December 2009). Excluded from the study were cases with positive predictors of CBD stones, namely, sonographically detected CBD dilatation and/or CBD stones, elevated bilirubin and/or alkaline phosphatase, persistent biliary pancreatitis, cholangitis, and those who had preoperative magnetic resonance cholangiography.

RESULTS

Of the 2,955 cases of LC reviewed, 241 were excluded, leaving 2,714 cases enrolled in the study. Fifty-five cases (2%) were converted to open surgery. Five cases (0.18%) had major bile duct injuries requiring surgical repair. Postoperative bile leakage was encountered in seven cases (0.26%). Missed CBD stones were reported in six cases (0.22%). There was no perioperative mortality in the present study.

CONCLUSION

LC can be performed safely without the use of IOC, with acceptable low rates of biliary complications provided that proper detection of patients with silent CBD stones is done and facilities for pre- and postoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography are available.

Optimising laparoscopic cholangiography time using a simple cannulation technique

BACKGROUND

Opponents of the routine use of intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) express concern over its technical difficulty and the length of time it takes.

AIM

To evaluate the impact of our cystic duct cannulation (CDC) technique, as implemented by one consultant and his trainees, on the IOC time.

METHODS

IOC is done routinely in all the laparoscopic cholecystectomies (LCs) undertaken in our unit. We carried out a prospective audit over a period of 18 months, recording the IOC time in consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic cholangiography (LC) with and without laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE). The total IOC time was considered to consist of two components: cystic duct cannulation (CDC) time and fluoroscopy time. The IOC time was further analysed according to the difficulty of cannulation and the operator experience. Special consideration was given to the LCBDE cases. We also describe the detailed steps of our CDC technique.

RESULTS

Over a period of 18 months 243 patients underwent LC. IOC was completed in 240 patients (98.8% success rate). Of those, 194 were females (81%). The mean age was 50 years (range 18-85 years). The mean total IOC time was 6 min, with a CDC time of 2 min, and fluoroscopy time of 4 min. On further analysis, CDC was considered easy in 86% of cases with a mean CDC time of 1.5 min and total IOC time of 4.3 min. When cannulation was difficult (14% of cases) a cholangiography clamp had to be used to prevent leakage of contrast. In difficult cases, the CDC and IOC mean times were 5 and 8.5 min, respectively. As would be expected, trainees spent more time performing cannulation and completing the IOC than the specialist surgeon (3.8 versus 1.8 min, and 7.2 versus 5.6 min, respectively). These differences were statistically but not clinically significant. Similarly, the IOC time was also significantly increased in LCBDE (13 min). This was mainly due to an increase in fluoroscopy time (10 min) rather than CDC time (3 min).

CONCLUSION

The IOC time could be optimised by using a simple and learnable cannulation technique to less than 5 min in most LCs. Surgeons should not, therefore, refrain from using this important investigation on selective or routine basis, subject to their policy for dealing with patients with suspected bile duct stones.

Prospective audit of laparoscopic cholecystectomy experience at a secondary referral centre in South australia

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now the gold standard procedure for symptomatic gallstone disease. Nevertheless, there are still several controversies such as the need for routine intraoperative cholangiogram (IOC), the indications for and results of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the setting of acute cholecystitis and the use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography versus laparoscopic common bile duct (CBD) exploration for intraoperatively detected choledocholithiasis. The aim of this study was to investigate some of these controversies.

METHODS

All laparoscopic cholecystectomies carried out at our institution, a secondary referral centre in Adelaide, South Australia, over a 9-month period were prospectively audited. Data were collected regarding indications for surgery, rate of conversion to open operation, use of IOC, rate of choledocholithiasis and complication rate.

RESULTS

There were 202 patients, of whom 152 were women and 50 men. Age range was 15-83 years. Sixty-one per cent of emergency operations were for acute cholecystitis. The conversion rate for emergency operations was 20.6% and for elective procedures was 4.2% (P = 0.003). One hundred and eighty-four patients had an IOC performed. Twelve of these patients had choledocholithiasis. Six of these 12 patients had both normal preoperative ultrasound and liver function tests. Four of the patients went on to postoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, four had successful laparoscopic CBD exploration, two had open CBD exploration and two had their distal CBD filling defects flushed away with normal saline. There was no morbidity associated with performance of the IOC. There were three patients with postoperative bile leak and one with a bile duct injury.

CONCLUSION

Selective IOC would miss a proportion of patients with choledocholithiasis. Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis is associated with a higher conversion rate than elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Overall complication rate is low, with 95% of patients having no complications. Laparoscopic CBD exploration is feasible with a reasonable success rate. This can all be achieved at a secondary referral centre staffed by general surgeons.

Preoperative evaluation of the extrahepatic bile duct structure for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

BACKGROUND

The incidence of aberrant bile duct injury associated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has not yet been adequately examined. This study aimed to clarify the types of normal cystic ducts and the incidence of aberrant extrahepatic bile ducts, and to search for a method of avoiding injuries during LC.

METHODS

Aberrant hepatic ducts were retrospectively categorized into five types according to the pattern of the cystic ducts and the accessory hepatic ducts by preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiography or multidetector three-dimensional computed tomography using drip infusion cholangiography. The aberrant bile ducts were classified as type A (merging at the right side of the common bile duct), type B (merging at the anterior side), or type C (merging at the posterior left side).

RESULTS

The intrahepatic bile ducts and cystic duct were clearly shown for 1,044 of the 1,278 patients who underwent LC. Secondary branches of aberrant cystic ducts were observed in 37 cases (3.5%), and accessory hepatic ducts were observed in 30 cases (2.9%). A comparison of the difficulties encountered with LC for each type based on the merging patterns of cystic ducts showed that type C needed a much longer operation time for LC than the other types.

CONCLUSIONS

A preoperative evaluation of the bile duct tract and the accessory hepatic duct before LC is important. Patients with a cystic duct merging normally into the posterior left side of the common hepatic duct (type C) experienced difficulty when undergoing LC. The authors have safely performed LC with the use of an endoscopic nasobiliary drainage tube in type D cases (cystic duct merging with the right hepatic duct), in type IV cases (cystic duct merging with an accessory hepatic duct).

Prospective study of scoring system in selective intraoperative cholangiography during laparoscopic cholecystectomy

AIM: To evaluate of scoring system in predicting choledocholithiasis in selective intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

METHODS: The scoring system of predicting choledocholithiasis was developed during the retrospective study in 264 cases, and was tested in 184 to evaluate its predictive value in choledocholithiasis.

RESULTS: The scoring system was developed in a retrospective study of 264 cases, the statistical analyses showed the predictive factors included sex, transaminase levels, alkaline phosphatase level, bilirubin level, and common bile duct diameter on ultrasonography. The scoring system was used in 184 cases prospectively, of which, 3 of 162 (1.9%) cases scoring < 3 had choledocholithiasis, 17 of 22 (77.3%) cases scores≥3 had choledocholithiasis. A case of scores≥3 or more prospectively should be considered highly intraoperative cholangiography during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

CONCLUSION: The scoring system can predict choledocholithiasis and is helpful in selection patietns for intraoperative cholangiography.