The role of portoenterostomy in the treatment of patients with multiple bile duct trauma: Case series and review of the literature.

Background: Hepaticojejunostomy is a challenging and complex procedure to be administered with the confidence, in conditions which contain a large number of bile duct damaged by benign pathologies or major bile duct trauma.

Methods: Here, our clinical series of portoenterostomy (PE), in which we applied in patients who had aggressive hilar dissection for hilar benign biliary pathologies and major bile duct traumas during laparoscopic cholecystectomies were discussed in the light of the literature. The PE procedure was performed in the presence of three or more bile ducts that could not be merged. The classic Roux-en-Y style hepaticojejunostomy was performed to prevent postoperative ascending cholangitis. The ropeway system was used when sewing. 6-8 stitches were laid on the back or anterior wall and the sutures were tied on the outside. Thin-long silicone stents placed in the small diameter (2 mm) bile ducts coinciding with the anastomosis line were extended into the jejunum.

Results: This study included six patients who underwent PE between 2015-2019. Five of the cases were male and one was female and the mean age was 70.33 years. Hepaticojejunostomy was performed in two of the four cases with biliary trauma, but the endoscopic and surgical revision was performed due to developing strictures and bile flow was corrected with stents. In these two cases coming from the external center, PE was applied to multiple bile ducts resulting from aggressive hilar dissection. In two patients who developed major biliary tract trauma (Strasberg-Bismuth-E4) at our hospital underwent PE in the same session. In the other two cases, PE was performed due to a large number of bile ducts caused by benign pathology-related complications (Mirizzi syndrome, Type 4). The mean follow-up period for six patients was 20.1 months (range 11 to 37 months).

Conclusion: Portoenterostomy can be performed as a salvage procedure in cases where multiple biliary tracts occur and hepaticojejunostomy is inadequate. PE can be safely used in selected cases that had benign pathologies, major bile duct trauma, in the presence of intense fibrosis, inflammation, very thin bile ducts and more fragile tissues in the liver hilum. PE should be performed in centers with surgeons experienced in hepatobiliary surgery. However, to better understand the efficacy of PE, large multicentric clinical series and patient follow-up are required.