Bile Duct Leak After Liver Surgery

Leakage occurs as a result of a small tear or a hole anywhere in the bile duct.

Bile duct leak after liver surgery.

If a bile duct is damaged during surgery bile may leak into the abdominal cavity causing extreme pain. A small hole or tear in the bile duct may cause bile to leak into the abdomen causing pain inflammation and infection in the abdominal cavity. A bile duct leak can arise either as a complication of a surgery such as gallbladder removal or liver transplant or from trauma to the biliary system. A small hole anywhere along the bile ducts can cause bile to leak into the abdominal cavity.

In addition the digestive process suffers because the proper amounts of bile are not being delivered to break down fats that are consumed. At the bile duct and pancreatic diseases program part of the university of michigan s division of gastroenterology our multidisciplinary team provides the newest minimally invasive treatments for bile duct leaks. Injury to bile duct and the biliary system as a whole can also give rise to bile leak. Bile leaks are often corrected by placing a stent narrow tube in the duct to keep bile from escaping while the duct heals.

Bile leakage is defined as fluid with an increased bilirubin concentration in the abdominal drain after postoperative day 3 or as the need for radiologic intervention. In this study we reviewed the bile leakage according to the isgls definition and grading table 1 not our previous institutional criteria.