Left hepatic artery (LHA) emerging from the gastroduodenal artery. Report of one case

Anatomic variations of the hepatic artery, which occur in 30 to 50% of patients, are a very important factor to be considered for Whipple procedure. The most common variations are those coming from the superior mesenteric artery, left gastric artery and the aorta. We report a 58-year-old woman with a story of one month of epigastric pain, jaundice and progressive itching. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass in the head of the pancreas. During pancreatoduodenectomy a left hepatic artery (LHA) emerging from the gastroduodenal artery and an accessory LHA emerging from the left gastric artery, were observed. The rest of the surgery was performed with no incidents. The patient had an uneventful postoperative evolution.