Background:

Bile duct injury is one of the most feared and dangerous complications, which leads to high morbidity and mortality. The incidence of common bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, increased until it reached 1.3%, which is still higher than the 0.6% from the open surgery era. The aim of this study is to show our experience in reconstruction of bile duct injuries over a 30-year period.

Material and methods:

This is a retrospective, descriptive, and observational study on patients from the General Surgery department of the Regional Hospital “General Ignacio Zaragoza”, during the period between 1980 and 2009, in which the patients’ clinical histories, laboratory and radiology studies, and follow-up analysis were performed. Only the patients with a major bile duct injury diagnosed during or after the surgery were included. Sixty-seven patients were included, 58 women, and nine men.

Results:

The most common type of injury was Bismuth III, and the surgical procedure was Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy in 54 patients, with 5.2% of mortality within the first 13 months, and 89.5% success during the first year of follow-up.

Conclusion:

Common bile duct injury during a surgical procedure is low in highly specialized hospitals. It is necessary to know the diagnosis and surgical options due to the elevated morbidity and mortality rates. There must be a close survival follow-up for complications, as cholangitis may appear.

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