[Calculi of the common bile duct. Calculi of the intrahepatic biliary ducts. Cancer of the lower common bile duct].
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BACKGROUND: Gallstones and common bile duct calculi have been increasingly diagnosed in recent years in infants and children. The present study aims to review the spectrum of this disorder in the last two decades. METHODS: During the period 1979-96 a total of 102 consecutive infants and children were diagnosed in Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children with gallstones or common bile duct calculi. A detailed retrospective analysis and follow-up of these children form the basis of the present report. RESULTS: The median age at presentation was 10 years. Recurrent right upper quadrant pain was the most common clinical presentation. The male-to-female ratio was 3:2 and this male predominance was noted in all the age groups. Aetiologically three identifiable groupings were noted: idiopathic disease (n = 66), haematological diseases (n = 23) and specific non-haematological disease (n = 13). The incidence of idiopathic and haematological stones had increased two-fold in the second half of the study. The majority of children (86%) underwent surgical correction. Choledocholithiasis (CDL) was noted in 18 children (18%). Jaundice was commonly associated with abdominal pain in this group. A higher incidence of common bile duct calculi was noted in females and children less than 5 years of age (P < 0.01). Common bile duct calculi were accurately diagnosed by pre-operative imaging in all 18 children. Surgical correction was required in all except two. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests an increasing incidence of gallstones in children. Cholelithiasis in children occurs commonly in boys, is idiopathic in aetiology and presents with a vague right upper quadrant pain. Choledocholithiasis is not uncommon in children, occurs more commonly in girls aged < 5 years and presents with jaundice or abnormal liver function tests.
Laparoscopic exploration of the common bile duct is now technically possible. This prospective study evaluates the feasibility of the different techniques and their complications. From January 1990 to March 1995, 140 patients, aged from 22 to 92, underwent laparoscopic treatment for choledocholithiasis. A transcystic approach was attempted in 70 patients and was successful in 46 (65.7%). The failures were treated by 19 laparoscopic choledochotomies and 5 postoperative endoscopic sphincterotomies. A choledochotomy was performed in 89 cases and was successful in 85 (94.4%). The failures were treated by 3 laparotomies and 2 postoperative endoscopic sphincterotomy. The total success rate was 92.8% (130/140). The 5 local complications were pain (1), liver injury (1), and wound abscess (2), bleeding from a trocar site. Heart failure (medical treatment) (2), gastrointestinal haemorrhage from intestinal angiomas, severe pancreatitis after transcystic failure and psychiatric disorders were the 5 general complications. The total morbidity rate was 7.1%. There were 2 residual common bile duct stones. The mortality rate was 0. Mean hospital stay was 7.8 days. Laparoscopic exploration of the common bile duct appears to be safe and effective and should be included in the management protocol of choledocholithiasis.
OBJECTIVE: To define the incidence of problematic common bile duct calculi in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: In patients selected for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the true incidence of potentially problematic common bile duct calculi and their natural history has not been determined. We evaluated the incidence and early natural history of common bile duct calculi in all patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy with intraoperative and delayed postoperative cholangiography. METHODS: Operative cholangiography was attempted in all patients. In those patients in whom a filling defect was noted in the bile duct, the fine bore cholangiogram catheter was left securely clipped in the cystic duct for repeated cholangiography at 48 hours and at approximately 6 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS: Operative cholangiography was attempted in 997 consecutive patients and was accomplished in 962 patients (96%). Forty-six patients (4.6%) had at least one filling defect. Twelve of these had a normal cholangiogram at 48 hours (26% possible false-positive operative cholangiogram) and a further 12 at 6 weeks (26% spontaneous passage of calculi). Spontaneous passage was not determined by either the number or size of calculi or by the diameter of the bile duct. Only 22 patients (2.2% of total population) had persistent common bile duct calculi at 6 weeks after laparoscopic cholecystectomy and retrieved by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. CONCLUSIONS: Choledocholithiasis occurs in 3.4% of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy but more than one third of these pass the calculi spontaneously within 6 weeks of operation and may be spared endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Treatment decisions based on assessment by operative cholangiography alone would result in unnecessary interventions in 50% of patients who had either false positive studies or subsequently passed the calculi. These data support a short-term expectant approach in the management of clinically silent choledocholithiasis in patients selected for LC.
A method of management of 212 patients whose common bile duct calculi were removed through the Ampulla of Vater across the duodenum is described. One patient died from haemorrhagic pancreatitis directly related to the procedure and 11 others died from causes related to the need for a major procedure in people relatively late in life: an overall mortality of 5.7% and of 0.5% for directly related causes. Ten patients suffered non-fatal complications. Ninety three left hospital within 14 days after operation and 79 within 21 days. Although one patient, for a special reason, continued to form stones and discharged them without any difficulty, no others have formed stones that have been recognised symptomatically or clinically. No patient has had cholangitis or common duct stenosis.
Thirty-three patients with common bile duct stones which could not be extracted by routine endoscopic measures were treated with extracorporeal lithotripsy. Two electrohydraulic lithotripters were used: Dornier HM3 and Technomed Sonolith 3000 using fluoroscopy and ultrasonography, respectively, for stone localisation. Twenty-nine patients were treated with only one session and four patients in two sessions. Fragmentation of stones was obtained in 29 patients (88 p. 100) and complete bile duct clearence in 26 patients (79 p. 100). The fragments passes spontaneously through the papilla in 7 cases; in 19 cases complete removal of fragments was achieved with a Dormia basket (16 cases) or after mechanical lithotripsy (3 cases). There were no significant differences in successful fragmentation rates between the two lithotriters. No serious adverse effects or mortality were observed within the 30 days following treatment. In conclusion, extracorporeal lithotripsy is an effective and safe method for the treatment of bile duct stones when, after sphincterotomy, routine endoscopic measures have failed.
INTRODUCTION: The choice of immediate or delayed surgery in patients with common bile duct calculi without severity criteria is controversial. Studies of patients with common bile duct calculi show that in a considerable percentage of these patients there is spontaneous passage of these stones without the need for surgery. AIM: To compare the percentage of common bile duct stones found at surgery between patients with impacted common bile duct stones undergoing immediate and delayed surgery. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Patients admitted to the Hospital de Clínicas Manuel Quintela with a diagnosis of impacted common bile duct stones were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were classified into two groups: those who underwent exploratory common bile duct surgery within 48 hours of admission (immediate surgery) and those who underwent surgery after the first 48 hours of admission (delayed surgery). The number of patients with a finding of common bile duct stones in each group was analyzed. RESULTS: Seventy patients (37 in the immediate surgery group and 33 in the delayed surgery group) were analyzed. Among the patients who underwent immediate surgery, 92% showed common bile duct stones on cholangiography or another instrumental procedure. In the group that underwent delayed surgery, this percentage was 64% (P< .004). Three factors predicting the absence of spontaneous passage of stones after 48 hours of admission were identified: age more than 70 years, jaundice of 7 days' duration or more and common bile duct stones visible by imaging techniques. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that delayed surgery of impacted common bile duct stones reduces the number of patients requiring common bile duct surgery as well as the number of patients requiring biliary drainage. Patients aged more than 70 years old, with jaundice of more than 7 days' duration and with common bile duct stones visible by imaging techniques do not benefit from delayed surgery.
A series of 74 patients having endoscopic sphincterotomy for common bile duct calculi is reported. Complete stone extraction was achieved in 53 cases (72%). Seventeen of 21 patients with retained calculi following recent biliary surgery had successful extractions (80%). Of 30 patients having had a cholecystectomy, 21 (70%) were successful, but only 15 of 23 patients with obstructive jaundice and no previous biliary surgery had the ducts cleared of calculi. Failure was due to multiple stones in the duct, or calculi too large to pass through the sphincterotomy. Endoscopic sphincterotomy is advocated in patients with obstructive jaundice due to stones, moving to early surgery should it prove unsuccessful. The results in patients with a T-tube in situ are comparable to extraction of the calculi along the T-tube tract.
Fifteen patients with stones in the common bile duct, in whom treatment with endoscopic papillotomy and stone-extraction had been unsuccessful were treated with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. Nine patients were stone-free after one or two sessions, and two patients after further endoscopic treatment. One patient achieved partial clearance and palliation. One patient had a choledochoduodenostomy performed due to ineffectiveness of the shockwave lithotripsy. Two patients, who were thought to have a stone, turned out to have neoplasma in the common bile duct. Complications were frequent but temporary and needed no treatment. We conclude that extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy is a valuable and safe alternative in those cases where conventional endoscopic treatment has failed, and should be considered before operation, especially to old for high-risk patients.
UNLABELLED: Miniinvasive treatment of lithiasis of the common bile duct hasn't reached yet a standard end point. There are multiple techniques used for it. In this study we evaluate its indications, possibilities and limits. MATERIAL AND METHOD: In a series of 14,024 biliary patients operated over 9 years 719 patients underwent open choledocolithotomy. In 173 (1.2%) of patients we used miniinvasive procedures as follows: 71 cases underwent sequential treatment, 91 laparoscopic treatment and in 11 cases the remnant calculi were extracted 1-6 days postoperative. RESULTS: Sequential treatment was the preferred treatment when the lithiasis of the common bile duct was detected preoperative. Transcistic extraction was more often performed for the lithiasis diagnosed intraoperative. The conversion to open surgery was performed in 13 cases, remnant calculi were early diagnosed in 11 patients and late diagnosed in 14 cases (the calculi were extracted by endoscopic sphyncterotomy). All patients were healed. DISCUSSIONS: The miniinvasive procedures have to be practiced as frequently as possible because of rapid healing and early recovery of the patients, despite some disadvantage of them. The choledocotomy and choledocoduodenostomy are exceptional techniques to be used in specific cases.
The authors propose a mathematical method of predictingthe passage of common bile duct calculi. An original mathematical formula derived by a computer allows a 98% accuracy of the prognosis. The estimations were based on the principal parameters influencingthe choledochal calculi movement defined with the help of the regression analysis. Such prediction simplifies the choice of therapeutic policy in mechanical jaundice due to choledocholithiasis.
Multiple techniques are now available for management of the patient with retained or recurrent common bile duct calculi. The goal of treatment is extraction of calculi with the lowest possible incidence of morbidity and mortality, the lowest cost and least discomfort to the patient, and the best long-term results. The choice of therapy--surgical or nonsurgical--depends on several factors, including presence or absence of the gallbladder and a T tube, type of calculi, operative risk, accompanying conditions, and expertise available at a particular institution. The decision to explore the common bile duct at the time of elective cholecystectomy is based on clinical, operative, and cholangiographic information. A rigorous technique of surgical exploration that includes duodenal mobilization, choledochoscopy, and cholangiography is necessary. In selected patients, biliary enteric anastomosis decreases the incidence of retained or recurrent calculi.
Several nonsurgical methods of therapy are available for treatment of retained common bile duct calculi. These include percutaneous extraction, endoscopic extraction, dissolution, and endoscopic sphincterotomy. The method chosen depends on location and size of calculi, size of sinus tract, patient age, surgical risks, and other factors. In most cases, procedures can be carried out safely and successfully with few or no complications.
A method of elimination of gallstones remaining in the common bile duct after exploration of the duct is described. The retained stone is flushed through the common duct sphincter into the duodenum using rapid infusion of normal saline via a T tube. The method is quick and simple and is recommended as the first step to take in the management of this discomforting group of patients. The method is not without potential morbidity and should only be carried out under carefully controlled conditions.
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Endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) was performed in 25 patients for common bile duct (CBD) calculi in the absence of stones in the gallbladder. Eighteen of these patients were considered unfit for surgery because of age or concomitant disease. All ES procedures were technically successful with complete evacuation of the CBD in all cases. Early complications occurred in only one patient, a 91-year-old female who died from nonbiliary tract disease. Long-term follow up over a period of 42 months was available in 19 of the 24 patients. Late complications occurred in two patients (10%), both of whom developed cholecystitis; they underwent surgery without subsequent morbidity or mortality. This 10% incidence of long-term complications is similar to that of other series that did not differentiate between patients with isolated CBD calculi and those with stones also present in the gallbladder. The observed complication rate does not justify routine prophylactic cholecystectomy after ES for isolated CBD stones.
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The authors describe their experience with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in a larger series of patients than previously reported in order to acquaint physicians with both its effectiveness for dissolution of common bile duct calculi and the limitations of its use. Ten patients with 13 biliary calculi underwent percutaneous stone dissolution treatment with the experimental cholesterol solvent, MTBE. Three stones completely dissolved within 30 minutes, seven were reduced in size, and three were visibly unaffected. All stones not completely dissolved were easily extracted by means of a stone basket except for one in a patient taken to surgery. Although MTBE perfusion is an effective technique for management of biliary calculi, practitioners should be aware that its use is quite time consuming and its odor difficult to control.