Primary cholesterol hepatolithiasis

Stones extracted from patients with hepatolithiasis were analysed by infrared spectrophotometry. Cholesterol stones containing 70% or more cholesterol were found in 12 out of 55 cases. Judging from the lodging site of the stones, the degree of dilatation of the cystic duct, and the presence of cholecystitis, five of the cases were considered to be cholesterol stones produced in the liver. Two out of the five cases were a 44-year-old female and a 46-year-old female, respectively, with normal bifurcation of intrahepatic ducts, and stones were found in the lateral branches of dilated cystic bile ducts. The other three were 2 males and 1 female with an average age of 33. In these cases, the posterior descending branch bifurcated from the left hepatic duct, and stones were lodged in the dilated bile ducts distal to the junction of the left hepatic duct and the posterior descending branch. It is our conclusion that at least the former two were cases of “primary cholesterol hepatolithiasis” in view of the shape of the stones conforming to the hepatic duct, their easy morcellation, and the high cholesterol contents.     

Morphological study of cholesterol hepatolithiasis. Report of three cases

Three cases of pure cholesterol intrahepatic stones are compared morphologically to those of calcium bilirubinate stones. Cholesterol stones were found in the intrahepatic bile duct of the left lateral lobe in two cases and in both the left lateral and the right posterior lobe in one. Although the chronic inflammatory reaction and fibrous thickening of bile duct wall were similar in both types of hepatolithiasis, the proliferation of intrahepatic periductal glands and the production of mucin were rather mild, compared to that is the liner containing calcium bilirubinate stones. Multiple intramural cholesterol calculi and cholesterin granulomas (cholesterin crystals surrounded by foreign-body giant cells) were found within the cystically dilated small bile duct branches and/or conduits of periductal glands. The calculi and granulomas were characteristic for cholesterol hepatolithiasis. These findings suggest that the formation of the cholesterol stones differs from that of calcium bilirubinate stones; the perturbation of factors influencing cholesterol nucleation in the hepatic bile may be related to the changed microenvironment of the intrahepatic bile ducts, which is followed by the formation of cholesterol stones.     

Anomalous connection of the right hepatic duct into the cystic duct: utility of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography

A 41-year-old female was admitted to our hospital for treatment of uterus carcinoma. Abdominal ultrasound showed gallbladder stones. Although magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography revealed the right intrahepatic bile ducts, left hepatic duct and the common bile duct, the confluence of the right and left hepatic ducts was not visualized. At surgery, intra-operative cholangiography showed a biliary anomaly of the right hepatic duct entering the cystic duct. Subsequently cholecystectomy was accomplished without any injury to the bile duct. Our case may be the eighth such case of this rare biliary anomaly. When magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography does not show the confluence of the right and left hepatic ducts, biliary anomaly of the right hepatic duct should be suspected and careful dissection should be performed from the Hartman's pouch, followed by intraoperative cholangiography, in order to avoid unnecessary injury to the bile duct.     

Intrahepatic segmental bile duct patterns in hepatolithiasis: a comparative cholangiographic study between Taiwan and Japan

Background/Purpose. We analyzed confluence patterns of intrahepatic segmental bile ducts, seeking to relate hepato-lithiasis to anatomic variation. The comparative study was completed patients with hepatolithiasis in Taiwan and Japan. Methods. Direct cholangiography was performed in 103 hepatolithiasis patients in Taiwan and 77 in Japan. Segmental ducts patterns were classified as type I, normal configuration; type II, “triad” confluence; type III, posterior segmental duct joining left hepatic duct; or type IV, distal confluence of the right posterior segmental duct. Results. Taiwanese patients had only calcium bilirubinate or black stones, and were mostly female. As overall analysis, types I, II, III, and IV were found in 61, 26, 13, and 3 patients, respectively. In Japanese, types I, II, III, and IV were found in 52, 10, 13, and 2, respectively. There was no difference between the two institutes. Since no patients in Taiwan had cholesterol calculi, Japanese patients were reanalyzed including only 58 patients with calcium bilirubinate or black stones. Differences in those populations remained insignificant. Conclusion. Anatomic variations in segmental ducts apparently do not contribute to pathogenesis of hepatolithiasis.     

A Patient with a Left Accessory Hepatic Duct with Gallstones

Abstract: Accessory hepatic ducts, especially the left ducts, are relatively rare anomalies of the biliary tract. We present here a patient with this anomaly complicated by the presence of multiple stones. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) and ultrasound (US) were very useful in establishing the diagnosis preoperatively and in determining our surgical strategy. ERC demonstrated the left accessory hepatic duct with multiple radiolucent stones at the level of the cystic duct on the opposite side of the gallbladder. US demonstrated a hyperechoic mass measuring 15×10 mm with an acoustic shadow at the hepatic hilus. It also showed the internal “honey-comb” structure of the mass which contained numerous stones measuring 5–6 mm in diameter and a fine tubular structure between the accessory hepatic duct and the caudate lobe. Intraoperatively the sac-like, dilated (35×10 mm), left accessory hepatic duct was filled with numerous bilirubin stones originating at the cystic duct from its contralateral side. A few fine bile ducts communicated with the accessory hepatic duct and the caudate lobe.     

Solitary Cystic Dilation of the Intrahepatic Bile Duct: Morphology of Two Autopsy Cases and a Review of the Literature

Solitary cystic dilation of intrahepatic bile ducts with neither extrahepatic biliary anomalies nor renal lesions has been reported previously in only 11 cases. We report two cases which were found as a result of postmortem cholangiography of 149 livers at autopsy. Case 1 had a cystic dilation measuring 1.2 cm in diameter in the left lateral superior area duct. Case 2 showed a cystic dilation measuring 1.0 cm in diameter in the left lateral segment duct. Histologically, the walls of the dilated ducts consisted of fibrous wall with proliferation of periductal mucous glands in both cases. The dilated and adjacent bile ducts in case 2 also contained tiny brown pigment stones and biliary sludge, suggesting that this bile duct lesion is important in the formation of intrahepatic calculi by providing a site for bile stasis and mucous hypersecretion.     

Intrahepatic Biliary Papillomatosis Arising in Nonobstructive Intrahepatic Biliary Dilatations Confined to the Hepatic Left Lobe

Papillomatosis of intrahepatic bile ducts is a rare pathologic entity. We describe herein a case of papillomatosis of intrahepatic bile ducts associated with nonobstructive dilatations of intrahepatic bile ducts of the hepatic left lobe. The patient, a 70-yr-old female, complained of right upper abdominal pain. Cholangiograms revealed multiple cystic dilatations of the left intrahepatic bile ducts. The right intrahepatic bile ducts were almost normal. The patient underwent left lobectomy of the liver. Grossly, intrahepatic bile ducts of the left lobe were cystically dilated and contained a little mucinous fluid. The inner surface of the dilated ducts was mildly granular or papillary. Microscopically, the walls of the dilated intrahepatic ducts were diffusely covered by columnar epithelial cells with papillary configurations. There was mild atypia of the epithelial cells, but no invasion of the epithelial cells into underlying duct walls was found. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of papillomatosis of intrahepatic bile ducts associated with nonobstructive dilatations of intrahepatic bile ducts confined to the left lobe. Although the pathogenesis of intrahepatic biliary papillomatosis of our case is unclear, it seems conceivable that biliary irritation associated with the nonobstructive dilatations of intrahepatic bile ducts is causally related to the papillary proliferations of intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cells.     

Left hepatic trisegmentectomy for intraductal papillary cholangiocarcinoma: report of a case

We present a rare case of intraductal papillary cholangiocarcinoma in a 69 year-old man which was treated with left hepatic trisegmentectomy. The hepatic bile ducts were dilated by intraductal masses, which had extended into the intrahepatic bile ducts without involvement of the posterior inferior segmental duct (B6). The patient underwent left hepatic trisegmentectomy with hilar duct resection. The tumors in the posterior superior segmental duct (B7) were resected and biliary reconstruction was performed with a jejunal loop. Post-operative recovery was good, and the patient survived for 7 months after surgery.     

Gallstone disease: Epidemiology, pathogenesis, and classification of biliary stones (common bile duct and intrahepatic)

Gallstones are common in Western countries and Japan. Most gallstones are found in the gallbladder, but they sometimes pass through the cystic duct into extrahepatic and/or intrahepatic bile ducts to become bile-duct stones, causing conditions known as choledocholithiasis and hepatolithiasis. Some 10-15% of gallstone patients concomitantly suffer from bile-duct stones. Bile-duct stones can also be formed in the absence of gallbladder stones, and such primary bile-duct stones are more common in East Asian countries than in the Western world. Thus pathogenesis of primary and secondary bile-duct stones is unlikely to be similar. Furthermore, the gallbladder stones are primarily cholesterol or black-pigment stones, whereas most bile-duct stones are brown-pigment stones (calcium bilirubin stones). Thus, epidemiology, pathogenesis and classification of biliary stones are very likely to differ according to stone location (intrahepatic and/or extrahepatic bile duct).     

Distributing pattern of the bile duct of the caudate lobe on computed tomography with drip infusion cholangiography and its surgical significance

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It is important to recognize the distribution of the bile ducts in the caudate lobe of the liver for the hepato-biliary surgery. To map the spatial relationship between the bile ducts and the liver parenchyma under physiological conditions, we performed an anatomical analysis of them using computed tomography combined with drip infusion cholangiography (DIC-CT). METHODOLOGY: We identified the bile ducts in the caudate lobe, which was divided into the Spiegel lobe, paracaval portion, and caudate process, with DIC-CT. We then investigated their number and confluence pattern in 132 patients without any abnormality in the hilar bile ducts. RESULTS: The mean number of the bile ducts in the caudate lobe was 2.68 per liver. In the Spiegel lobe, the branches drained into the left hepatic duct system in about 83%. The confluence of the paracaval branch was the left hepatic duct, right hepatic duct, and posterior segmental branch, all with the same frequency of approximately 30%. Almost all of the caudate process branches (92.4%) drained into the posterior segmental branch. CONCLUSIONS: DIC-CT is a useful method for the anatomical analysis of the intrahepatic bile ducts under physiological conditions, and we obtained novel and important findings for surgery.     

Self-expanding metallic stent for benign biliary strictures: seven-year follow-up

We report two cases of benign biliary strictures managed by metallic stent placement because the patients refused surgical repair. One patient is a 67-year-old man who had a stricture of the right hepatic duct and a bile leak following a cholecystectomy. The second patient is a 50-year-old man who had a stricture of the left hepatic duct following a right hepatic lobectomy for hepatolithiasis. For treatment of these bile duct strictures, a Gianturco-Rosch Z stent was placed in the former case and a Wallstent in the latter. Luminal patency of the stent was maintained for 7 years in the former case but in the latter, luminal stenosis of the stent was induced soon after placement. However, in the former, bile stasis in the left hepatic duct system, which emptied into the side of the stent, gradually developed without signs or symptoms of cholangitis or biliary obstruction. Therefore, the use of metallic stents for benign biliary stricture remains controversial. However, if metallic stent placement is the only therapeutic option, it is necessary to maintain bile flow not only through the stent but also in the bile ducts which flow into the side of the stent.     

Interhepatic duct: a new biliary anomaly

True accessory bile ducts occur in only 1% of patients. An accessory bile duct connecting the right and left hepatic ducts at the porta hepatis is described. This anomaly has never been reported previously, and was clinically significant in the presence of partial obstruction of an anomalous right hepatic duct by stones. The embryologic origin of this duct, which we term an "interhepatic duct," is uncertain.     

Choledocholithiasis: Evaluation with MR Cholangiography

This retrospective study compared imaging results with surgery findings in 26 choledocholithiasis patients who were examined with two-dimensional fast spin-echo (2D-FSE) MR cholangiography and half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) MR cholangiography. Patients were examined using a 1, 5 T Philips Gyroscan ACS\11 MR scanner and a 1 T Siemens Harmony MR scanner. A total of 21 of the 26 patients with diagnosed choledocholithiasis on imaging were proven to have common bile ducts stones. Two patients had another small stone which was impacted into the Vater and which was not detected with MR cholangiography. One patient with mild dilated common bile duct and pancreatic duct also had a small impacted stone which was not detected by MR cholangiography. One patient had an irregular stone in the hepatic duct, extending partially into the left hepatic duct which was misintepretated as carcinoma. The last patient had a dilated common bile duct due to a small impacted stone which was not detected and biliary sludge which was misintepretated as a stone. The overall sensitivity of MR cholangiography in the detection of common bile duct stones was 80.8%. In conclusion MR cholangiography can rapidly evaluate the common bile duct for stones. The only problem we encountered was in the evaluation of small impacted stones at the Vater. (Dig Endosc 1999; 11: 220–224)     

腹腔镜胆囊切除术1475例胆囊动脉胆囊管的解剖与处理

目的:报告腹腔镜胆囊切除术中胆囊动脉及胆囊管的解剖观察。方法:1991—1993年行腹腔镜胆囊切除术1475例,手术认真解剖了胆囊动脉和并用钛夹分别进行钳闭处理。结果:84.9％为主干型胆囊动脉,15.1％为多支型胆囊动脉、胆囊动脉缺如或细小,肝迷走胆囊动脉等变异。90.9％的胆囊管直径0.3—0.4cm,长1—3.5cm。因胆囊炎症的严重程度导致胆囊管纤维化闭锁或增粗多见。短胆囊管76例。因误认致肝外胆管横断伤3例,胆囊动脉后支出血止血钳闭部分肝总管1例,胆囊管残端瘘1例,变异胆囊动脉术后出血2例。术后并发心律失常、肺部感染,21d死于多器官功能衰竭1例(0.1％)。治愈1474例(99.9％)。结论:腹腔镜胆囊切除术治疗胆石症是-安全的方法,术中仔细解剖胆囊动脉和胆囊管极为重要。     

Sickle cell cholangiopathy： An endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography evaluation

AIM: To evaluate the role of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).METHODS: Two hundred and twenty four SCD patients with cholestatic jaundice (CJ) had ERCP. The indications for ERCP were based on clinical and biochemical evidence of CJ and ultrasound findings.RESULTS: Two hundred and forty ERCPs were performed. The indications for ERCP were: CJ only in 79, CJ and dilated bile ducts without stones in 103, and CJ and bile duct stones in 42. For those with CJ only, ERCP was normal in 42 (53.2%), and 13 (16.5%) had dilated bile ducts without an obstructive cause. In the remaining 22, there were bile duct stones with or without dilation. For those with CJ, dilated bile ducts and no stones, ERCP was normal in 17 (16.5%), and 28 (27.2%) had dilated bile ducts without an obstructive cause. In the remaining 58, there were bile ducts stones with or without dilation. For those with CJ and bile duct stones, ERCP was normal in two (4.8%), and 14 (33.3%) had dilated bile ducts without an obstructive cause. In the remaining 26, there were bile duct stones with or without dilatation.CONCLUSION: Considering the high frequency of biliary sludge and bile duct stones in SCD, endoscopic sphincterotomy might prove helpful in these patients.     

Extrahepatic biliary cystadenocarcinoma arising from the left hepatic duct

A 54-year-old man, who had no clinical symptoms, underwent a routine health checkup at our hospital. Abdominal ultrasonography disclosed a well demarcated tumor containing a solid portion occupying the dilated left hepatic duct and a cystic portion expanding into the parenchyma of the left hepatic lobe, with mild dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts. These findings were later confirmed by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography revealed a complete defect at the level of the left hepatic duct, while drip infusion cholangiographic-CT (DIC-CT) disclosed a defect of the left hepatic duct only, with the distal portions of the left intrahepatic ducts being visualized on the image. Hepatic angiography revealed light stains in the solid portion in the parenchymal phase. At left lobectomy, a multiloculated polyp-like tumor was found arising from the left hepatic duct and expanding into the parenchyma of the left hepatic lobe. Microscopically, all the lining cells in the cysts and the tumor cells in the solid portion showed the features of papillary adenocarcinoma. In this patient with extrahepatic biliary cystadenocarcinoma, DIC-CT was useful in identifying the site of origin of the tumor, and hepatic angiography was also useful in differentiating this rare malignant tumor from benign cystadenoma. (Received July 11, 1997; accepted May 22, 1998)     

Successful resection of cholangiocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in the main trunk of the portal vein

A space-occupying lesion in the right hepatic lobe, with dilated peripheral bile ducts, was observed by ultrasonography and computed tomography in a 50-year-old man with right upper quadrant abdominal pain. One month later, this lesion evidenced rapid growth and a tumor thrombus, which completely occluded the main trunk and the left primary branch of the portal vein, had developed. The tumor was diagnosed as a cholangiocellular carcinoma with an unusual pattern of intravascular extension. The primary tumor and the portal tumor thrombus were resected via a right hepatic trisegmentectomy combined with resection of the portal vein and extrahepatic bile duct, using a superior mesenteric vein—left femoral vein catheter bypass (SMV—FV bypass). The SMV—FV bypass was found to effectively reduce intraoperative hemorrhage.     

Anomalous arrangement of pancreaticobiliary ductal system associated with cholangiocellular carcinoma

A 66-year-old man with congenital cystic dilatation of the common bile duct (CDB; Alonso-Lej Type I) and anomalous arrangement of the pancreaticobiliary ductal system (AAPB) associated with intrahepatic bile duct cancer (cholangiocellular carcinoma; CCC) underwent an extended right hepatic lobectomy. In the resected specimen, the CCC was located in Couinaud’s segment V, with invasion to segment IV and the right hepatic duct and right portal vein. However, there was no cancer involvement of the dilated extrahepatic bile ducts, except for histologic findings of chronic inflammatory cellular infiltration and intestinal metaplasia. It is presumed that the probable mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis in CCC developing from the epithelium of intrahepatic bile ducts are the same mechanisms as those operating in carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct in patients with AAPB, although AAPB associated with CCC is uncommon. AAPB appeared to be related to the development of the CCC.     

Leaks from laparoscopic cholecystectomy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Significant postoperative bile leaks occur in approximately 1% of patients. The goal of endoscopic therapy is to eliminate the transpapillary pressure gradient, thereby permitting preferential transpapillary bile flow rather than extravasation at the site of leak. METHODOLOGY: Sixty-four patients were retrospectively evaluated. Endoscopic treatment comprised endoscopic sphincterotomy followed by insertion of a naso-biliary drainage or a stent. Retained stones were extracted by standard procedures. RESULTS: The site of bile extravasation was the cystic duct in 50 cases, ducts of Luschka in 4 cases, common bile duct in 6 cases and common hepatic duct in 4 cases. Retained bile duct stones were detected in 21 cases and papillary stenosis in 4 cases. Endoscopic sphincterotomy was performed in 25 cases, with stones extraction and nasobiliary drainage in 21 cases, and placement of stent in the remainder. Bile leaks resolved in 96.9% of patients, after endoscopic procedure. Two cases of mild pancreatitis were evidenced from endoscopic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic management is the treatment of choice of postcholecystectomy bile leaks.     

Intraductal oncocytic papillary neoplasm of the bile duct: the first case of peribiliary gland origin

We report herein the first case of intraductal oncocytic papillary neoplasm of the bile duct arising from a peribiliary gland of the left hepatic duct. The patient was a 63-year-old Japanese man. Radiological and cholangioscopic examinations revealed intraductal tumor of the left hepatic duct. After pathological diagnosis of adenocarcinoma by cholangioscopic biopsy, a surgical hepatobiliary resection was performed. Pathological examination revealed papillary tumor in the left hepatic duct. Histologically, the tumor was identified as papillary neoplasm comprising oncocytic cells and delicate fibrovascular cores. Interestingly, this tumor originated from the cystic space in the bile duct wall. This cystic space was histologically identified as a cystically dilated peribiliary gland. Carcinoma in situ was observed in this cystic peribiliary gland at the bottom of the tumor, but not on any areas of biliary epithelium. This case suggests that intraductal papillary neoplasm can arise from both biliary epithelium and peribiliary glands.