Role of laparoscopy in the immediate, intermediate, and long-term management of iatrogenic bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

PURPOSE: Bile duct injuries (BDI) during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy still remain as one of the most feared complications in surgery. The use of laparoscopy for its management is a controversial subject of discussion. The purpose of this study is to assess the amount of possibilities that a laparoscopic approach allows in its resolution. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all the patients diagnosed with BDI at our center was carried out. The analysis was made considering three different scenarios in which laparoscopy can be used: (1) intraoperative management of BDI; (2) postoperative management of bile peritonitis; (3) deferred treatment of BDI. RESULTS: We analyzed 22 patients in total who were divided into three groups according to the different scenarios proposed. In the first group, the applicability of laparoscopy was 45%, some complications occurred in two patients, and primary patency was obtained in seven. In the second group, four of them presented a grade III complication. In the third group, the applicability of laparoscopy was 13.6%. Only one patient presented a IIIa complication and primary patency was obtained in all of them. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy plays a more important role in BDI management every day. This approach, in selected cases, is associated with good long-term results and perioperative advantages of a minimally invasive approach.

Use of radiotherapy in patients with palliative double bypass for locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma

PURPOSE: Pancreatic cancer (PC) has not changed overall survival in recent years despite therapeutic efforts. Surgery with curative intent has shown the best long-term oncological results. However, 80%–85% of patients with these tumors are unresectable at the time of diagnosis. In those patients, first therapeutic attempts are minimally invasive or surgical procedures to alleviate symptoms. The addition of radiotherapy (RT) to standard chemotherapy, ergo chemoradiation, in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) is still controversial. The study aims to compare outcomes in patients with a double bypass surgery due to LAPC treated or not with RT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients with double bypass for LAPC were registered and divided into two groups: treated or not with postoperative RT. Baseline characteristics, postoperative complications, those related to RT and their relation to the main event (mortality) were compared. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients were included. Surgical complications between the groups did not offer significant differences. Complications related to RT were mostly mild, and 86% of patients completed the treatment. Overall survival at 1 and 2 years for patients in the exposed group was 64% and 35% vs. 50% and 28% in the non-exposed group, respectively (p = 0.11; power 72%; hazard ratio = 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.24–1.18). CONCLUSION: We observed a tendency for survival improvement in patients with postoperative RT. However, we’ve not had enough power to demonstrate this difference, possibly due to the small sample size. It is indispensable to develop randomized and prospective trials to guide more specific treatment lines in this patients.