OBJECTIVE: To improve the surgical effects of hilar duct stricture.
METHODS: The clinical data of 76 patients with hilar bile duct stricture treated at our hospital from 1990 to 2000 were analyzed. The diagnosis was determined by triad signs of cholangitis, increase of ALP and γ-GGT levels, dilation of intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts confirmed by ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The location of stricture was divided according to the Bismuth classification standard.
RESULTS: Among the 76 patients, 46 (60.5%) suffered from injurious stricture, including 13% of Bismuth type Ⅰ, 39% of type Ⅱ, 19.4% of type Ⅲ, and 28.2% of type Ⅳ. Inflammatory stricture was found in 28 patients, locating in the left hepatic duct (LHD) 46.4% (13/28), the right hepatic duct (RHD) 35.7% (10/28), and the common hepatic duct (CHD) 17.9% (5/28), respectively. The percentages of patients with stricture due to Mirizzi’s syndrome, bile duct cyst, and sclerosing cholangitis were 9.2%, 3.9% and 2.6%, respectively. Bile duct repair procedures included biliary reconstruction with pedicled umbilical vein graft for 9.2% of the patients, and proximal cholangiojejunostomy combined with LHD and RHD plasticity for 92.2%. Seventy of the 76 patients were followed up for 2-10 years, and the excellent outcome rate was 94.7%.
CONCLUSIONS: Injurious stricture is the major type of hilar bile duct stricture. Inflammatory stricture is mainly composed of RHD. Hilar bile duct stricture should be treated surgically according to various etiological features and technical principles of biliary repair.