Is Hepatectomy Necessary in Dealing with Left Hepatolithiasis with Intrahepatic Duct Stricture?

Background: Hepatolithiasis with intrahepatic biliary strictures, more common in Southeast Asia than elsewhere, remains a difficult problem to manage. Hepatic resection has recently been advocated as one of the treatment modalities for hepatolithiasis; however, this procedure is not without risk. This study was designed to achieve complete clearance of the stones, eliminate bile stasis, and avoid the potential risks of hepatic resection in the patient with hepatolithiasis and intrahepatic biliary stricture.Methods: In this prospective clinical trial 13 patients with retained left hepatolithiasis and intrahepatic biliary strictures were included. All the patients met the following criteria: (1) initial surgical procedure for hepatolithiasis, (2) normal gross findings of the left liver, and (3) no obvious clinical evidence of an associated intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. After the operation they underwent matured T-tube tract ductal dilatation with percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy tube stenting. Choledoschoscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy was used in five patients after dilatation when impacted or large stones were encountered.Results: Complete clearance of the stones was achieved in these 13 patients. One patient had fevers develop after ductal dilatation, and another patient had mild hemobilia after electrohydraulic lithotripsy. Both recovered uneventfully with conservative treatment. These successfully treated patients remain well, with a mean follow-up period of 20 months.Conclusions: Postoperative matured T-tube tract ductal dilatation and stenting, combined with endoscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy when indicated, is an effective and safe alternative to hepatic resection for selected left hepatolithiasis with intrahepatic biliary stricture.     

Liver resection for intrahepatic stones

HYPOTHESIS: Long-term outcome is good for a selected group of patients with hepatolithiasis treated with liver resection. Liver resection should also be offered to patients with complex hepatolithiasis such as bilateral stones or those with strictures. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Regional hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 174 patients with hepatolithiasis (201 procedures) treated between January 1, 1989, and September 30, 2003. INTERVENTIONS: Liver resection (52 procedures) or removal of stones primarily by percutaneous choledochoscopy (149 procedures). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Recurrence of cholangitis. RESULTS: Most patients in the liver resection group had stones localized to the left side. The overall success rate in this group was 98.0% (49 of 50 patients, excluding 2 patients found to have cholangiocarcinoma). The chance of biliary sepsis at 5 years after resection was 13.3%. The overall success rate of stone removal primarily by percutaneous choledochoscopy was 70.5%. The bilaterality of stones, the presence of stricture, and the presence of atrophy were found to be significant risk factors for a poor long-term outcome after stone removal alone. The chance of biliary sepsis at 5 years was 26.4% and 43.2% for those without and with stricture, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term outcome after liver resection for hepatolithiasis was excellent for a selected group of patients. Poor outcomes were recorded for patients whose intrahepatic stones were removed primarily by percutaneous choledochoscopy, especially those with strictures. The indication for liver resection for hepatolithiasis should be extended to patients with strictures and those with bilateral stones. A combination of different treatment modalities is necessary to improve the outcome of these patients.     

Hepatectomy in intrahepatic lithiasis

STUDY AIM: The aim of this study was to report the immediate results of a series of 65 hepatic resections for hepatolithiasis performed in Vietnam. PATIENTS AND METHOD: From 1986 to 1998, 44 men and 21 women (mean age: 40 years) underwent hepatic resection for hepatolithiasis. Fourty patients had previously undergone one or several operations for hepatolithiasis. The procedure was performed on emergency in 25 patients. Indications for hepatic resection were: angiocholitis and liver abscess in 22 cases, stones closely inserted in the biliary duct in 20 cases, hemobilia in 12 cases, stones located above a biliary stricture in 8 cases and stones associated with a postoperative biliary fistula in 3 cases. Liver resections (minor in 61 patients, including 55 left lobectomies, and major in 4 patients) were performed through transhepatic approach according to the Ton That Tung technique and followed by an external biliary drainage with a Kehr tube. RESULTS: There were 6 postoperative deaths (9%), 3 due to septic shock, 2 to cachexia, and 1 to liver failure. The 15 patients with complications recovered with conservative therapy. Bile infection was present in 93%, mostly with Escherichia coli and Enterobacter. Pigmented stones were usually found. CONCLUSION: Vietnam is a country with high incidence of hepatolithlasis. Hepatic resection is an adequate treatment for localized intrahepatic bile duct stones when the involved segment including biliary strictures and calculi can be completely removed. The procedure may be performed on emergency for liver abscess, or hemobilia.     

Preliminary Experience With Indications for Liver Transplantation for Hepatolithiasis

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the indications for liver transplantation among patients with hepatolithiasis.

Patients and Methods

Data from 1431 consecutive patients who underwent surgical treatment from January 2000 to December 2006 were retrospectively collected for analysis. Surgical procedures included T-tube insertion combined with intraoperative cholangioscopic removal of intrahepatic stones, hepatectomy, cholangiojejunostomy, and liver transplantation.

Results

Nine hundred sixty-one patients who had a stone located in the left or right intrahepatic duct underwent hepatectomy or T-tube insertion combined with intraoperative cholangioscopic removal of intrahepatic stones. The rate of residual stones was 7.5%. Four hundred seventy patients who had a stone located in the bilateral intrahepatic ducts underwent surgical procedures other than liver transplantation; the rate of residual stones was 21.7%. Only 15 patients with hepatolithiasis underwent liver transplantation; they all survived. According to the degree of biliary cirrhosis, recipients were divided into 2 groups: a group with biliary decompensated cirrhosis (n = 7), or group with compensated cirrhosis or no cirrhosis (n = 8). There were significant differences in operative times, transfusion volumes, and blood losses between the 2 groups (P < .05). In the first group, 6 of 7 patients experienced surgical complications, and in the second, 8 recipients recovered smoothly with no complications. Health status, disability, and psychological wellness of all recipients (n = 15) were significantly improved at 1 year after transplantation compared with pretransplantation (P < .05).

Conclusions

Liver transplantation is a possible method to address hepatolithiasis and secondary decompensated biliary cirrhosis or difficult to remove, diffusely distributed intrahepatic duct stones unavailable by hepatectomy, cholangiojejunostomy, and choledochoscopy.     

Surgical treatment of choledochal cysts

Biliary cystic disease is uncommon in Asia and very rare in Europe and the Americas. Patients with biliary cysts may present as infants, children, or adults. When patients present as adults, they are more likely to have stones in the gallbladder, common duct, or intrahepatic ducts and to present with biliary colic, acute cholecystitis, cholangitis, or gallstone pancreatitis. With increasing age at presentation, the risks of intrahepatic strictures and stones, segmented hepatic atrophy/hypertrophy, secondary biliary cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and biliary malignancy all increase significantly. Factors to be considered when performing surgery on patients with biliary cystic disease include: (1) age, (2) presenting symptoms, (3) cyst type, (4) associated biliary stones, (5) prior biliary surgery, (6) intrahepatic strictures, (7) hepatic atrophy/hypertrophy, (8) biliary cirrhosis, (9) portal hypertension, and (10) associated biliary malignancy. In general, regardless of age, presenting symptoms, biliary stones, prior surgery or other secondary problems, surgery should include cholecystectomy and excision of extrahepatic cyst(s). With respect to the distal bile duct, the surgical principle should be excision of a portion of the intrapancreatic bile duct with care to not injure the pancreatic duct or a long common channel. Resection of the pancreatic head should be reserved for patients with an established malignancy. With respect to the intrahepatic ducts, surgery should be individualized depending on whether (1) both lobes are involved, (2) strictures and stones are present, (3) cirrhosis has developed, or (4) an associated malignancy is localized or metastatic. When the liver is not cirrhotic, hepatic parenchyma should be preserved even when strictures and stones are present. If cirrhosis is advanced, hepatic transplantation may be indicated, but this sequence of events is unusual. If a malignancy has developed, oncologic principles should be followed. Whenever possible, resection of a localized tumor including adjacent hepatic parenchyma and regional lymph nodes should be performed.     

Clinical significance of intrahepatic biliary stricture in efficacy of hepatic resection for intrahepatic stones

In the Far East, hepatic resection is the definitive treatment for complicated intrahepatic stones (IHS). However, many investigators have reported that the associated intrahepatic biliary stricture is the main cause of treatment failure. A retrospective comparative study was undertaken to clarify the long-term efficacy of hepatic resection for treatment of IHS and to investigate the clinical significance of intrahepatic biliary stricture in treatment failure after hepatic resection performed in 44 patients with symptomatic IHS. The patients were divided into two study groups: group A, with intrahepatic biliary stricture (n = 28) and group B, without stricture (n = 16). Residual or recurrent stones, recurrence of intrahepatic biliary stricture, late cholangitis, and final outcomes were analyzed and compared statistically between the two groups. The patients were followed up for a median duration of 65 months after hepatectomy. The overall incidence of residual or recurrent stones was 36% and 11%, respectively, in groups A and B. The initial treatment failure rate was 50% in group A and 31% in group B. Intrahepatic biliary stricture recurred in 46% of patients in group A, while none of the group B patients had biliary stricture recurrence (P = 0.001). More than two-thirds of the restrictures in group A were identified at the primary site. The incidence of late cholangitis was higher in group A (54%) than in group B (6%) (P = 0.002). Three-quarters of the patients with cholangitis in group A had severe cholangitis, that was recurrent, and related to stones and strictures (n = 11). They and 2 asymptomatic patients in group B required secondary procedures done at a median of 12 months after hepatectomy. Final outcomes after hepatectomy with or without secondary management were good in 80%, fair in 16%, and poor in 4% of our 44 patients. Most recurrent cholangitis after hepatectomy in patients with IHS was related to recurrent intrahepatic ductal strictures. Therefore, to be effective, hepatic resection should include the strictured duct. However, with hepatectomy alone it is difficult to clear the IHS or relieve the ductal strictures completely, particularly in patients with bilateral IHS, so perioperative team approaches that include both radiologic and cholangioscopic interventions should be combined for the effective management of IHS. Received for publication on Oct. 15, 1997; accepted on Feb. 2, 1998     

Comparison of treatments for hepatolithiasis: hepatic resection versus cholangioscopic lithotomy.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic resection and percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic lithotomy (PTCSL) are the two main approaches to the treatment of hepatolithiasis, but comparisons of longterm followup results have not been adequately reported. STUDY DESIGN: Of 86 patients with hepatolithiasis admitted to our institution between 1980 and 1996, we reviewed 54 patients: 26 who underwent hepatic resection and 28 who underwent PTCSL. Five patients who underwent postoperative cholangioscopic lithotomy were included in the former group. The remainder of the hepatolithiasis patients were not treated by hepatic resection or PTCSL and, therefore, were excluded from this study. Hepatic resections were mainly indicated for left-sided localized intrahepatic calculi, atrophic liver, and possible presence of cholangiocellular carcinoma. PTCSL was performed for right-sided, bilateral or recurrent stones at an average of 6 treatments (range 1 to 20 treatments) for each patient. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of gender or age. The recurrence rate of stones and longterm prognosis were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and other clinical factors listed below were statistically compared. RESULTS: The rate of complete removal of stones was similarly high in each group (96.2% in the hepatic resection group versus 96.4% in the PTCSL group). The complication (38.5% versus 21.4%) and 5-year survival (85.6% versus 100%) rates were comparable. Remaining bile duct stricture (18.2% versus 60.9%, p < 0.01) and 5-year recurrence rates (5.6% versus 31.5%, p < 0.05) were statistically lower in the hepatic resection group than in the PTCSL group. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic resection, when combined with postoperative cholangioscopic lithotomy, is a preferable treatment for left-sided stones with strictures and bilateral stones.     

A new biliary access technique for the long-term endoscopic management of intrahepatic stones

Intrahepatic stone disease poses a difficult postoperative management problem due to frequent stone recurrence. Most of the methods proposed for long-term access to the intrahepatic biliary tree require multiple sessions of additional, usually invasive, procedures. An alternative method for endoscopic long-term access to the intrahepatic ducts, represented by a side-to-side anastomosis between the isolated Roux-en-Y jejunal limb of the bilioenteric bypass and the duodenum (duodenojejunostomy), was used in eight patients with retained and/or recurrent stones after surgical treatment of intrahepatic stone disease. There were no short- or long-term complications or mortality associated with the duodenojejunostomy. Postoperative endoscopic access to the intrahepatic ducts was successfully achieved in five of six patients: one with stone recurrence, one with a left hepatic duct stricture and stone recurrence and one with known retained postoperative stones. In two patients, no stones were found at endoscopy. Side-to-side duodenojejunostomy may be useful in the long-term endoscopic management of recurrent intrahepatic biliary stone disease and should be indicated whenever a bilioenteric anastomosis is performed for the treatment of bilateral intrahepatic stone disease. Introduction Received: August 16, 2001 / Accepted: February 8, 2002     

肝方叶切除联合肝门胆管高位劈开整形在肝门胆管狭窄合并结石中的应用

背景与目的:对于肝胆管结石多次手术后复发患者,如何安全取尽结石,最大限度解除肝门甚至是肝内胆管的狭窄,并建立或修复通畅的胆流通道,一直是胆道外科治疗领域中的难点。本研究探讨肝方叶切除联合肝门胆管高位劈开整形在肝门胆管狭窄合并结石中的治疗效果及应用价值。方法:回顾性分析2015年7月—2019年6月湖南省人民医院收治的36例复杂肝胆管结石患者的临床资料,36例患者既往平均手术2.4次,均存在不同程度的肝门部胆管狭窄,其中肝门胆管汇合部狭窄18例,合并右肝管狭窄8例,合并左肝管狭窄10例。结果:所有患者均行肝方叶切除、肝门胆管高位劈开整形、胆肠内引流手术,术中采用取石钳取石、塑形管冲洗、胆道镜探查等多种方式取尽结石。平均手术时间354.4 min,平均失血量230.5 mL。术后平均结石清除率在90%以上。术后2例患者出现胆汁漏,经积极引流治疗后好转,3例患者出现切口脂肪液化、感染,1例患者不完全性肠梗阻,均保守治疗后好转。术后采用门诊、电话随访12～48个月,4例患者出现反流性胆管炎,无胆肠吻合口再发狭窄病例。结论:肝方叶切除联合肝门胆管高位劈开整形能有效解除肝门胆管高位狭窄,达到取尽结石、通畅引流的目的,同时能避免大范围的肝切除,因此具有一定的临床应用价值。     

规则性肝段切除结合胆道镜治疗肝内胆管结石

目的 研究规则性肝段切除结合胆道镜治疗肝内胆管结石的优越性及有效性。方法 根据289例患者肝内胆管结石的分布情况(左外叶138例．左肝叶96例,右前叶6例,右后叶12例,右肝叶25例。双侧肝叶12例;合并有显著肝段或肝叶萎缩98例,肝脓肿8例,胆瘘3例,胆管癌5例)行肝段或联合肝段切除。其中S2～S3切除181例,S2～4切除56例．S6～S7切除18例,S5～8切除12例,双侧肝叶切除12例。附加术式包括经肝门部胆管切开取石186例,经肝实质胆管切开取石8例,胆管空肠Roux-en-Y吻合196例(10例输出空肠拌皮下埋植)。术中胆道镜经胆总管途径186例,肝断面胆管途径103例,术后胆道镜经T管途径186例,皮下输出空肠袢途径10例。结果 随访10个月至10年,89．5％(259／289)症状消失,7．9％(23／289)偶有轻度胆管炎发作,2．6％(7／289)仍反复发作严重胆道感染。术后并发症有胆漏8例(2．8％)．膈下感染12例(4．2％)．腹腔脓肿1例(0．35％)．3例(1．03％)术后死于肝衰竭。结论 规则性肝段切除术结合胆道镜技术是治疗肝内胆管结石的最有效手段。     

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目的 分析胆肠吻合术治疗肝内胆管结石并胆道狭窄的选择和疗效。方法 对１９９１年９月至１９９８年１２月６９例行胆肠吻合术的肝内胆管结石并胆道狭窄病例进行总结,包括临床表现、结石部位、狭窄情况、手术方式和治疗效果等。结果 胆管狭窄主要位于１￣２级胆管内。５１例（７３．９％）行肝胆管空肠Ｒｏｕｘ－ｅｎ－Ｙ吻合术,１８例（２６．１％）采用胆总管十二指肠吻合术,随访结果表明,肝胆管空肠Ｒｏｕｘ－ｅｎ－Ｙ吻合     

肝叶切除术在治疗肝内结石病中的地位

肝叶切除术是一种治疗肝内结石病的根治性手术。根据１８２例肝内结石行肝叶切除的经验．本文讨论了需肝切除矫正的病理改变、手术指征、技术操作和结果。观察表明，肝切除在治疗肝内结石病有重要作用。     

规则性肝段切除术治疗肝内胆管结石病

目的 总结采用肝段切除术治疗肝内胆管结石病的经验。方法 回顾性分析1975年1月至1998年12月间采用肝段切除术治疗514例肝内胆管结石的临床资料及远期疗效。结果 肝内胆管结石的分布：左外叶64例、左肝叶176例、右前叶10例、右后叶24例、右肝叶31例、双侧肝叶209例。合并症：合并有显著肝段或肝叶萎缩者280例，肝脓肿17例，胆瘘7例，胆管癌8例。265例有1-5次胆道手术史。手术方法：根据肝内结石的分布决定肝段或联合肝段切除的范围，其中S2－3切除284例、切除98例、切除26例、切除37例、双侧肝叶部分切除23例。附加术式包括经肝门胆管切开取石217例，经肝实质肝内胆管切开取石11例，胆管空肠Roux-en-Y吻合296例。术后并发症有胆漏15例（2.9%）、膈下感染23例(4.5%)、腹腔脓肿2例（0.4%）和肝衰3例（0.6%）等。11例（2.1%）术后死于肝衰竭。随访10个月到25年，75.9%症状消失，14.5%偶而有轻度胆管炎发作，9.6%仍反复发作严重胆道感染。49例手术效果差的主要原因是肝脏切除范围不够兖分而遗留病变的肝胆管。结论 规则性肝叶切除术是清除病灶的最有效手段。     

Treatment of bilateral intrahepatic stones with high duct strictures through selective central hepatic resection

Bilateral intrahepatic duct stones with strictures, more common in the Orient than elsewhere, are difficult to access surgically. The results of surgical procedures have not been generally successful and are attended by a high postoperative complication and recurrence rate. We report the treatment of 30 patients with intrahepatic calculi and high duct strictures by means of selective central hepatic resection without dissection of the major vessels at the hilum. Central hepatic resection provided satisfactory access to the primary and secondary confluences of the intrahepatic ducts, allowed removal of residual stones and ascariasis, and permitted correction of multiple strictures. Twenty-nine patients so treated were followed for a mean of 32 months after operation. No patients developed recurrent fever, biliary colic, or jaundice after the operation. The technique is therefore recommended as an effective alternative to extensive hepatic lobectomy in the treatment of the intrahepatic calculi with multiple strictures.     

Are expandable metallic stents better than conventional methods for treating difficult intrahepatic biliary strictures with recurrent hepatolithiasis?

BACKGROUND: Conventional methods for treating patients with recurrent hepatolithiasis associated with complicated intrahepatic biliary strictures include balloon dilatation of the intrahepatic biliary strictures, lithotripsy, and the clearance of difficult stones as completely as possible, with the placement of an external-internal stent for at least 6 months. After these modalities are used, symptomatic refractory strictures remain. Recently we used internal Gianturco-Rosch metallic Z stents to treat patients who had refractory strictures. OBJECTIVE: To compare therapeutic results and complications of an internal expandable metallic Z stent with those of repeated external-internal stent placement. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: A referral center. PATIENTS: From January 1992 to December 1996, 18 patients with recurrent hepatolithiasis and complicated intrahepatic biliary strictures underwent percutaneous dilatation of stricture and transhepatic percutaneous cholangioscopic lithotomy for recurrent stones. After their stones were completely cleared, their biliary strictures failed to dilate satisfactorily. The patients were randomly enrolled into 2 groups: group A (7 patients), who received an expandable metallic Z stent, and group B (11 patients), who had repeated placement of external-internal stents. INTERVENTIONS: Percutaneous stricture dilatation, electrohydraulic lithotripsy, balloon dilatation, percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic lithotomy, and biliary stenting by a Silastic external-internal catheter or a modified Gianturco-Rosch expandable metallic Z stent (for an internal stent). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of procedures, days in hospital, procedure-related complications, incidents of stone recurrence and recurrence of cholangitis, readmissions to the hospital, treatment sessions required, and mortality rate. Patients' limitations in ordinary activities were also compared. RESULTS: The follow-up period ranged from 28 to 60 (40.7+/-12.7 [mean +/- SD]) months in group A and from 28 to 49 (36.0+/-7.2) months in group B. Fewer group A patients (3 [43%]) than group B patients (8 [73%]) tended to have recurrent cholangitis and to require readmission to the hospital, but this was not statistically significant (P = .33). When their cumulative probability of a first episode of cholangitis during follow-up was compared, however, it was significantly lower in patients treated with a metallic stent (P = .04). Compared with group B patients, group A patients had less frequent recurrence of stones (0% vs 64%; P = .01), fewer procedures for the clearance of biliary stones or sludge (1.7+/-2.2 vs 6.4+/-4.3; P = .03), and shorter hospital stays (8.0+/-11.5 days vs 17.0+/-12.0 days; P = .07). No patients in group A experienced limitation in ordinary activities, whereas 7 patients in group B did (P<.02). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the repeated placement of external-internal stents, the use of a metallic internal stent effectively decreases stone recurrence, simplifies further procedures, and is more convenient. Its use is suggested as an alternative choice in the treatment of recurrent hepatolithiasis with refractory intrahepatic biliary strictures.     

Use of Intraoperative Ultrasonography during Hepatolithectomy

Abstract. Complete clearance of intrahepatic stones has long been a major surgical challenge. To reduce the incidence of residual stones, we used intraoperative ultrasonography (IOUS) to localize them and guide lithectomy in 38 patients with hepatolithiasis between July 1988 and December 1993. All patients had multiple intrahepatic stones; 24 had accompanying extrahepatic calculi. Hepatic stones were confined to the left intrahepatic biliary tract in 13 patients, to the right in 9, and in both lobes in 16. Twenty-three patients underwent common bile duct exploration followed by T-tube drainage, 8 had transhepatic lithotomy with or without choledocholithotomy, 3 had choledocolithotomy and Roux-en-Y side-to-side choledochojejunostomy, and 2 had hepaticojejunostomy, left lobectomy was performed in the remainder. In 35 patients cholecystectomy was performed at the same time. Complete clearance of the stones was achieved in 36 patients (94.7%). The incidence of retained stone was decreased to 5.3%. No associated complications occurred. IOUS can accurately localize intrahepatic calculi, directly orient lithotomy instruments to approach the stones, demonstrate the spatial relation between stone and intrahepatic critical structure, and thereby choose an optical route for transhepatic lithotomy. Imaging can be repeated at any time with no radiation exposure to the patient or the medical staff.     

Laparoscopic right hemihepatectomy for hepatolithiasis

Background Liver resection is the definitive treatment for unilateral hepatolithiasis [1]. Recently, laparoscopic major hepatectomias have become more common and are being performed in highly specialized centers [2–4]. However, few laparoscopic liver resections for hepatolithiasis have been reported. Chen et al. [5] reported two cases of laparoscopic left lobectomy for hepatolithiasis, but to our knowledge, right hepatectomy has never been reported to date. This video demonstrates technical aspects of a totally laparoscopic right hepatectomy in a patient with hepatolithiasis. Methods A 21-year-old woman with right-sided nonoriental primary intrahepatic stones [1] was referred for surgical treatment. The operation followed four distinct phases: liver mobilization, dissection of the right portal vein and right hepatic artery, extrahepatic dissection of the right hepatic vein, and parenchymal transection with harmonic shears and linear staplers for division of segment 5 and 8 branches of the middle hepatic vein. No Pringles’ maneuver was used. In contrast to liver resection for other indications, the right bile duct was enlarged and filled with stones. It was divided during parenchymal transection and left open. After removal of the surgical specimen, the biliary tree was flushed with saline until stone clearance, under radioscopic surveillance, was complete. The right hepatic duct then was closed with running suture. Results The operative time was 240 min, and the estimated blood loss was 120 ml, with no blood transfusion. The hospital stay was 5 days. At this writing, the patient is well and asymptomatic 7 months after the procedure. Conclusion Laparoscopic liver resection is safe and feasible for patients with hepatolithiasis and should be considered for those suffering from intrahepatic stones. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopic removal of intrahepatic stones

BACKGROUND: Treatment of hepatolithiasis is complex and difficult. With the advent of biliary endoscopy and radiological intervention, percutaneous choledochoscopic removal of intrahepatic stones has become a well established procedure. METHODS: Seventy-nine patients with intrahepatic stones that were removed by percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopy (PTCS) between 1993 and 2001 were studied retrospectively. The results of the procedure and the long-term outcome of these patients were analysed. RESULTS: The success rate of choledochoscopic removal of intrahepatic stones was 76.8 per cent. Complications occurred in 17 patients (21.5 per cent). Removal of stones predominantly on the right side was difficult using this method. Cholangitis occurred in about one third of patients within 3-5 years after PTCS. For patients with a stricture, cholangitis recurred gradually over the years of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Intrahepatic stricture was the major determinant for the recurrence of stones or symptoms. Hepatic resection should be offered to these patients if the disease is localized in one liver segment or lobe. In other cases, percutaneous choledochoscopy and stricture dilatation is a useful solution, and may reduce further damage to the liver.     

肝切除在肝内胆管结石治疗中的价值

目的：探讨肝叶切除在肝内胆管结石治疗中的价值和手术方法。方法：对3年间收治的442例肝内外胆管结石（410例合并肝外胆管结石）患者的手术方法及效果进行回顾性分析。结果：442例患者中,206例行肝叶切除术（A组）,236例行单纯胆管切开取石（B组）。术后每组各死亡1例。A组与手术相关的并发症发生率为8.8%（18/205）,B组为11.1%（26/235）,差异无统计学意义（χ2=0.634,P=0.263）。A组和B组的结石残留率分别为16.1%（33/205）和46.8%（96/235）,差异有统计学意义（χ2=32.4,P<0.001）。A组结石残留率的高低与结石的分布情况有关（χ2=14.0,P=0.001）,而与是否行规则肝叶切除无关（χ2=0.892,P=0.451）。A组发现肝内胆管细胞癌7例,均顺利切除;B组在随访2年后发现肝脏肿瘤4例,行手术切除2例。随访2年后A组和B组再发胆道结石、梗阻或胆管感染的总数分别为16例（8.1%）和62例（26.8%）,差异有统计学意义（χ2=25.2,P<0.001）;而A组16例中,行规则肝叶切除患者1例（1.8%,1/57）,肝叶部分切除的患者15例（10.6%,15/141）,差异有统计学意义（P=0.043）。结论：肝叶切除可降低肝内胆管结石患者术后结石残留率,而规则的肝叶切除能及时切除可能的恶性病变,并有效地降低远期结石再发、梗阻或胆管感染的发生率。     

复杂性肝内胆管结石的外科治疗

目的　总结复杂性肝内胆管结石的外科治疗方法及效果。 方法　 总结分析１９９２ ～１９９８ 年外科治疗复杂性肝内多段胆管结石并多处胆管狭窄３５ 例的手术方法,总结显露与切开肝内狭窄段胆管、取出结石、解除狭窄的经验和体会。 结果　３５ 例无手术死亡,术后近期并发感染、胆漏、肝功能不全或消化道出血共７ 例,均治愈;残留结石９ 例,术后经胆道镜取净结石７ 例。随访６ 个月至５ 年６ 个月２４ 例,优良２１ 例（８８ ％ ） ,好转２ 例（８ ％ ） ,无效１ 例（４ ％ ） 。 结论　复杂肝内胆管结石外科治疗的关键是显露和切开肝内各叶段胆管的狭窄段,取出结石、建立通畅的胆流通道。经肝门区或肝方叶可以显露和切开肝门胆管、左右肝管和左内叶、右前叶胆管,经肝膈面切开肝实质进路,可以显露和切开右肝内各叶段胆管。