Post-cholecystectomy cystic duct stump leak: a preventable morbidity.

Objective: While major bile duct injury is the most serious complication following laparoscopic cholecystectomy, bile leak from the cystic duct stump remains the commonest morbidity. This is a retrospective assessment of all patients who had a cholecystectomy over a 5-year period from April 2003 to March 2008.

Methods: Data related to bile leakage were obtained from the Unisoft endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) database.