Uncontrolled bleeding from the cystic artery and its branches is a serious problem that may increase the risk of intraoperative lesions to vital vascular and biliary structures. On laparoscopic visualization anatomic relations are seen differently than during conventional surgery, so proper knowledge of the hepatobiliary triangle anatomic structures under the conditions of laparoscopic visualization is required. We present an original classification of the anatomic variations of the cystic artery into two main groups based on our experience with 200 laparoscopic cholecystectomies, with due consideration of the known anatomicotopographic relations. Group I designates a cystic artery situated within the hepatobiliary triangle on laparoscopic visualization. This group included three types: (1) normally lying cystic artery, found in 147 (73.5%) patients; (2) most common cystic artery variation, manifesting as its doubling, present in 31 (15.5%) patients; and (3) the cystic artery originating from the aberrant right hepatic artery, observed in 11 (5.5%) patients. Group II designates a cystic artery that could not be found within the hepatobiliary triangle on laparoscopic dissection. This group included two types of variation: (1) cystic artery originating from the gastroduodenal artery, found in nine (4. 5%) patients; and (2) cystic artery originating from the left hepatic artery, recorded in two (1%) patients.

Our classification is simple and easy to memorize and will considerably facilitate safe laparoscopic cholecystectomy.