Primary duct closure following common bile duct exploration: a pursuit for 130 years / 中华肝胆外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Common bile duct exploration (CBDE) is a classic procedure for cholelithiasis. T-tube drainage (TTD) and primary duct closure (PDC) are the two therapeutical methods for bile duct repairment. Based on the literature review, it’s indicated that although PDC was the method used to repair the cut bile duct in the first case of CBDE in 1889, then, people realized that PDC was superior to TTD in terms of safety and minimally invasiveness, and there was no significant difference in the effect of treatment, however, until now, TTD has still been the main method to repair bile duct after CBDE. PDC has not been widely used as expected in the past years. The indications and contraindications of PDC and TTD have not been clearly defined. This paper reviewed the development of PDC for more than one hundred and thirty years, and summarized the clinical application research status in different development stages, and looks forward to the future development trend.