Cystic duct entering to right hepatic duct; a case report with literature review

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Surgeons may mistakenly consider the right hepatic duct as cystic duct, ligate, and divide it. CASE PRESENTATION: A 58-year-old woman presented with right upper quadrant (RUQ) abdominal pain, nausea, and RUQ tenderness, but negative Murphy's sign. Common bile duct was 10 mm based on abdominal ultrasound. Common hepatic duct and intrahepatic ducts consist of multiple common bile duct (CBD) stones with sludge and multiple small gallstones. Different diagnostic procedures (Computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)) showed the connection of the cystic duct to the right hepatic duct. Balloon sweeping for stones extraction and then laparoscopic cholecystectomy was successfully done. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Radiologic evaluations like MRCP, CT scan, ERCP or sonography before or during the surgery/endoscopic interventions seem logical at least for selected patients. CONCLUSION: Before endoscopic/surgical interventions we need to be sure about the anatomy of biliary tree by a suitable para-clinic evaluation.