Laparoscopic Repair of Post-cholecystectomy Bile Duct Injury: an Advance in Surgical Management

Despite widespread advances in laparoscopic surgery, laparoscopic repair of post-cholecystectomy bile duct injury (BDI) has rarely been reported related mainly to technical difficulty. We describe three cases of BDI treated laparoscopically with one illustrated by a video. With our gained experience in hepatic pedicle dissection during laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy, we decided to perform laparoscopic repair of BDI in patients with an intact biliary confluence without vascular injury. Three patients were operated including two women: one was re-operated by subcostal incision for peritonitis and two had undergone cholecystectomy without conversion. Surgical technique is detailed in the manuscript and the video. Laparoscopic repair was performed between 45 and 300 days after cholecystectomy. Surgery lasted between 250 and 270 min with no conversion and no transfusion. The postoperative course was uneventful with a hospital stay ranging from 7 to 9 days. After a mean follow-up of 9-33 months, patients were symptom free with normal liver function tests. The laparoscopic approach can be safely and effectively proposed to a subgroup of patients with BDI. This approach has the advantages of the laparoscopic approach and represents the main new surgical advancement in the management of this complication.