Laparoscopic hepaticojejunostomy for benign biliary stricture: A case series of 16 patients at a tertiary care centre in India

BACKGROUND: Gallstone disease is common in India, and since primary management involves surgery, it is one of the most commonly performed surgeries by a general surgeon either laparoscopically or open. There are various factors which are responsible for intra- and post-operative complications. These factors result in significant injuries which cause serious post-operative complications. Amongst them, benign biliary stricture is one such significant complication which is primarily managed by open surgery, but since advent of laparoscopy, there has been an increased interest in doing this repair laparoscopically. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 16 patients having obstructive jaundice due to benign biliary stricture on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography who were operated consecutively over the past 10 years laparoscopically and underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. RESULTS: All patients underwent laparoscopic hepaticojejunostomy. The mean surgical time was 280 min, and the mean blood loss was 176 ml. In the post-operative period, most of the patients were started orally after 48 h; four had atelectasis, eight had surgical site infection, none had seroma and two had bile leak. All post-operative complications responded to conservative management. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that laparoscopic surgery for benign biliary strictures is safe and feasible with acceptable results.