Surgical treatment for the excluded bile leakage from Spiegel lobe after right hemihepatectomy: A case report

INRODUCTION: The treatments of excluded bile duct leakage after hepatectomy are not easy and various strategies have been reported, such as surgery, ethanol or fibrin glue injection, and portal vein embolization. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 72-year-old man with a surgical history of laparoscopic ileocecal resection for diverticular bleeding was diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma. Right hemihepatectomy was performed, and computed tomography examination on postoperative day 9 showed abdominal fluid collection in the right subphrenic space. Percutaneous intra-abdominal fluid drainage was performed and it was diagnosed as bile leakage. After that it was diagnosed as excluded bile leakage from the Spiegel lobe by drip infusion cholangiographic-computed tomography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography. To improve this clinical condition, we performed the Spiegel lobe excision on postoperative day 48. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged. DISCUSSION: According to the postoperative examination, it appeared that the bile duct from the Spiegel lobe joined to the right main bile duct or the bile duct of the right posterior section. This bile duct anomaly was not detected preoperatively on imaging examination. It is most likely that the bile duct from the Spiegel lobe was cut when the hepatoduodenal ligament in the hepatic hilum was peeled. To prevent excluded bile leakage, the hepatoduodenal ligament should be carefully peeled and ligated instead of using energy devices. CONCLUSION: We consider that surgical treatment for postoperative excluded bile leakage is both a quick and reliable procedure in patients with acceptable liver function and anatomical subject.