A new technique for intraoperative continuous biliary drainage during pancreatoduodenectomy.

Background: The common hepatic duct is divided during the early stage of pancreatoduodenectomy. Complete and prolonged closure of the proximal common duct stump can cause liver damage in the course of this long operation, resulting in associated complications.

Methods: We performed intraoperative continuous external bile drainage by a new method using a novel drainage clamp in 47 consecutive patients (drainage clamp group) and compared postoperative liver enzyme levels, inflammation markers, morbidity, and outcomes with those of a conventional clamp group (n = 40).

Results: The drainage clamp group had significantly lower transaminase levels within the first 14 postoperative days than the conventional clamp group. The number of patients with elevated transaminase was significantly less in drainage clamp group than conventional clamp group (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between these two groups in terms of mortality rates and postoperative morbidity.

Conclusion: Intraoperative complete closure of the common hepatic duct contributed to postoperative elevated transaminase levels, and the continuous decompression of the hepatic duct during pancreatoduodenectomy is beneficial to patients by avoiding liver dysfunction. The novel drainage clamp is a safe and useful tool for pancreatoduodenectomy and other operative procedure where extrahepatic bile duct is dissected.