Intraperitoneal bile collections after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: causes, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment.

Background: Bile leakage is more common after laparoscopic cholecystectomy than after open surgery. In our department, the rate of postoperative bile collections after open surgery is 0.2% vs 0.6% after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Methods: We studied 13 cases of intraperitoneal bile collection without common bile duct damage drawn from a total of 5,200 laparoscopic cholecystectomies (0.23%). Clinical presentation, symptoms, method of diagnosis, causes, time of diagnosis, correlation of time of diagnosis with definitive treatment, and postoperative results were analyzed.

Results: The symptoms appeared between the 5th and 8th postoperative days. They were observed in patients with either chronic or acute cholecystitis. The main causes were misapplication of clips at the cystic duct and open Luschka's duct. Ultrasound failed for early recognition of bile collections. The definitive diagnosis was made by repeat ultrasonography, CAT scan, and ERCP.

Conclusion: The ideal treatment in these cases is a minimally invasive procedure, but since the diagnosis is frequently delayed, open surgery is performed in the majority of patients. However, there were no mortalities in this group of patients.