Bile duct reconstruction following laparoscopic cholecystectomy in England.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of bile duct reconstruction (BDR) following laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and to identify associated risk factors.

Background: Major bile duct injury (BDI) requiring reconstruction is a serious complication of cholecystectomy.

Methods: All LC and attempted LC operations in England between April 2001 and March 2013 were identified. Patients with malignancy, a stone in bile duct or those who underwent bile duct exploration were excluded. This cohort of patients was followed for 1 year to identify those who underwent BDR as a surrogate marker for major BDI. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the need for reconstruction.

Results: In total, 572,223 LC and attempted LC were performed in England between April 2001 and March 2013. Five hundred (0.09 %) of these patients underwent BDR. The risk of BDR is lower in patient that do not have acute cholecystitis [odds ratio (OR) 0.48 (95 % CI 0.30-0.76)]. The regular use of on-table cholangiography (OTC) [OR 0.69 (0.54-0.88)] and high consultant caseload >80 LC/year [OR 0.56 (0.39-0.54)] reduced the risk of BDR. Patients who underwent BDR were 10 times more likely to die within a year than those who did not require further surgery (6 vs. 0.6 %).

Conclusions: The rate of BDR following laparoscopic cholecystectomy in England is low (0.09 %). The study suggests that OTC should be used more widely and provides further evidence in support of the provision of LC services by specialised teams with an adequate caseload (>80).