Medknow Publications on behalf of Association of Surgeons of India
Abstract
Operative bile duct injury is one of the serious complications of
hepato-biliary surgery. It is feared because of the substantial
morbidity, occasional mortality, additional expenditure and frequent
litigation that accompany it. With the introduction of laparoscopic
cholecystectomy (LC) there was an increase in the incidence of such
injuries and their pattern also changed to more complicated varieties.
The popularity of LC and various percutaneous endoscopic procedures for
bile duct pathologies have made the younger generation of surgeons less
familiar with open cholecystectomy and open operative approaches to
bile duct injuries. A review of the literature pertaining to the
mechanism of bile duct injuries, during both open and LC, and the
techniques of their prevention, was carried out by Medline search; with
the aim of helping surgeons in optimising their efforts of preventing
these tragic accidents