Quality of life in bile duct injury: 1-, 5-, and 10-year outcomes after surgical repair.

Background: Quality of life after bile duct injury is a relevant health issue besides physician-oriented outcomes. A prospective study was performed to explore short- and long-term outcomes after surgical repair.

Method: We studied a cohort of patients with Strasberg E injuries who underwent Roux-en-Y jejunal anastomosis from 1990 to 2008. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was selected as the appropriate quality of life assessment instrument. Two groups were comprised: Group I included patients with 10-year follow-up after surgery. Group II included patients operated during 2008 with preoperative 1- and 5-year questionnaires.

Results: Group I patients (N = 41) were operated from 1990 to 2003 and Group II (N = 44) during 2008. There is a significant improvement in quality of life after the first year of repair in all domains. Readmissions (48 vs 25 %; p < 0.01), colangitis (46 vs 14 %; p < 0.001), and hepatojejunal redo (26 vs. 4 %; p < 0.0001) were less frequent in Group II. No differences in quality of life summary scores were found between Group I and II.

Conclusions: Quality of life improves significantly after the first year of surgical repair, reaching a plateau at 5 years. No correlation exists with physician-centered outcomes.