Abdomen - Biliary Flashcards
In a patient with signs and symptoms of acute cholecystitis, evaluate whether the patient is an appropriate candidate for open or laparoscopic operative approaches based on the duration of disease, severity of disease, and prior procedures.
Surgeon comfort level should drive the decision on operative approach. Patients presenting with longer duration of symptoms (both chronic cholecystitis and delayed presentation of acute cholecystitis) and more severe disease are more likely to have a conversion from a laparoscopic to an open approach.
What are contraindications to the laparoscopic approach for cholecystectomy?
- Generalized peritonitis
- Septic shock from cholangitis
- Severe acute pancreatitis
- Coagulopathy
- Previous abdominal surgeries that prevent abdominal access
- Advanced cirrhosis
- Suspected gallbladder cancer
In a patient admitted with biliary pancreatitis, understand the timing and approach of cholecystectomy to prevent subsequent complications from gallstone disease.
Once the common bile duct has been cleared of obstruction (ERCP) or has been shown to be clear by imaging, cholecystectomy should be completed in the index hospitalization when symptoms have resolved and labs normalized.
Major biliary structures encountered during cholecystectomy?
Gallbladder (neck, infundibulum, body, fundus), cystic duct, common hepatic duct, common bile duct, hepatic duct bifurcation.
Major vascular structures encountered during cholecystectomy?
- Proper hepatic artery branches into right and left hepatic.
- The right hepatic passes posterior to the common hepatic duct and gives off the cystic artery at the triangle of Calot.
- The arteries feeding the common bile duct run at 9- and 3-o’clock.
30% of patients have variant biliary anatomy. What are some of the variances encountered in cholecystectomy?
The cystic duct can insert directly into the right hepatic duct, be short or long, course behind the common hepatic duct. An accessory right hepatic duct is also common.
What are some arterial variations encountered in cholecystectomy?
- A replaced right hepatic artery (typically off the SMA) is often found along the lateral aspect of the CBD.
- A replaced left hepatic artery is found off the left gastric.
- The common hepatic can also come off the SMA.
- The cystic artery can originate in multiple places; however, you can often find it by Calot’s node.
At what location in the biliary tree is fluoroscopic cholangiogram performed? What anatomy does it reveal?
- Fluoroscopic cholangiography is performed via cannulation of the cystic duct at the gallbladder-duct junction. Thus, injection of contrast should show the remaining biliary tree including the common hepatic duct, common bile duct, the bile duct bifurcation, and contrast within the duodenum.
- 2–12% of patients have been reported to have choledocholithiasis seen on IOC. 10% of these are unsuspected pre-op.
In a patient with signs and symptoms of acute cholecystitis, order appropriate laboratory testing and imaging.
- CBC, LFTs, lipase
- RUQ US - safe, sensitive, inexpensive, reliable
- HIDA - confirms dx if GB fails to fill after 2 hrs
- can be used to dx dyskinesia - GB EF after CCK
- CT - sensitive, delineates anatomy, r/o other abd sources
Interpret the labarotory workup for cholecystitis to identify other biliary pathology. What further workup may be needed?
- ↑ ALP, bili, transaminase - choledocholithiasis - ERCP
- ↑ amylase/lipase - gallstone pancreatitis - ERCP
In preparation for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, poisition the patient appropriately.
The patient should be placed supine with either both arms tucked or extended or the right arm extended and the left arm tucked to allow two surgeons on the left side.
Trocar placement for laparoscopic cholecystectomy?
Typically, 4 trocars are placed:
- 5mm or 12-mm supraumbilical camera port
- 5-mm subxiphoid working port
- 5-mm right anterior axillary retractor port
- 5-mm right mid-clavicular retractor port
Key steps to laparoscopic cholecystectomy?
- Retract the fundus cephalad and the infundibulum laterally
- Begin dissection at the infundibulum
- Dissect the bottom 1/3 of the GB from the hepatic bed
- Expose hepatocystic triangle - clear tissue around Calot’s node
- Establish the critical view of safety - 2 tubular structures b/w the GB and hepatoduodenal ligament with liver visible in between
- Divide the cystic duct and artery between clips
- Retract superiorly to resect the GB from the hepatic plate
Describe the points in the operation at which errors are most likely to occur and the nature of the errors.
- Visual misperception accounts for 97% of bile duct injuries
- Poor technical skill or knowledge accounts for 3% of injuries.
- Great retraction is key: The fundus is retracted toward the shoulder, exposing the infundibulum. This places the cystic duct parallel with the hepatic duct. Thus, the infundibulum must be retracted laterally to open the triangle of Calot.
- Ensuring the critical view of safety before dividing relevant anatomy is key to preventing bile duct injuries.
Describe the indications for conversion to an open procedure.
- Conversion to an open procedure is not a complication and the decision to convert is based on the intraoperative assessment of anatomic clarity and surgeon comfort.
- Failure to progress
- Inadequate visualization to achieve a critical view of safety
- Inability to control bleeding
- Biliary injury
Incision for conversion to open cholecystectomy.
Either a right subcostal incision or midline incision.
What is considered the gold standard in bile duct injury prevention and reduces the incidence from 0.6% to 0–0.03%?
Obtaining the critical view of safety
What intraoperative procedure is associated with improved recognition of CBD injury in cholecystectomy?
- Intraoperative cholangiogram
- Early recognition of injury improves patients’ long-term outcomes.
- Patients should be referred immediately to experienced specialist for repair if needed.
Options for intervention when CBD stones are encountered intraop:
- Psx: pt w/ moderate risk for choledocholithiasis, so ERCP not done, and MRCP deferred
- Ductal irrigation with glucagon to relax the sphincter
- If large CBD, small stone - transcystic CBD exploration with choledochoscopy
- If large stone, small CBD - choledochotomy with choledocoscopy for stone removal
- Laparoscopic endobiliary stent placement via the cystic duct with postoperative ERCP
- ERCP during or after cholecystectomy
- Transduodenal approach is morbid
Given a patient who presents with jaundice 4 days following an elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, conduct a diagnostic workup.
- DDx: obstruction from duct injury or retained CBD stone
- Labs: CBC, transaminases, bilirubin, ALP, lipase
- Initial imaging: US - collection of bile and evaluate biliary tree
- Most useful imaging: CT - vascular injury (20%), plan repair
- Confirm injury: HIDA - incapable of precise anatomic delineation
- Assess/treat biliary anatomy: ERCP - type/level of injury, treat obstructive pathology
Be able to initiate appropriate treatment of retained and recurrent common bile duct stones.
Retained bile duct stones can be identified up to 2 years following cholecystectomy. Endoscopic removal is almost universally successful.
Discuss intra-operative evaluation of the CBD for evaluation of injury or stones.
IOC - may prevent injury, 90% success for injury ID, set up intervention
IO US - performed prior to dissection of critical view, sensitive and specific for detection of stones, does not allow for intervention
After routine uncomplicated laparoscopic cholecystectomy, be able to manage diet and timing of discharge.
Once a patient can tolerate a regular diet and his/her pain is well controlled, s/he may be discharged.
Same-day discharge is common.
Before performing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, be able to correctly order appropriate antibiotics.
Antibiotic prophylaxis in the elective setting: Not required in low-risk patients, may reduce wound infections in high-risk patients, and if given should be limited to a single preoperative dose within 1 hour of incision.
For non-elective cholecystectomy and/or chronic cholecystitis, antibiotics should cover enterococcus and gram-negative bacteria; a first generation cephalosporin is a reasonable choice in most settings.
