No abstract

IDUS proved useful for assessing the extension of bile duct cancer invasion into the right hepatic artery. However, IDUS did not sufficiently demonstrate the proper hepatic artery and the left hepatic artery for diagnosing vascular involvement.

IDUS proved useful for assessing the extension of cancer invasion into the portal vein, even in proximal bile duct tumors.

One hundred and nineteen patients with intrahepatic stones treated surgically in Nagasaki University Hospital from 1969 to 1984 were reviewed. The patients were divided into four types according to location of the stones and the presence or absence of stenotic lesions and/or localized dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts. Types I and II patients were treated with choledocholithotomy or choledochojejunostomy, while type III patients underwent hepatic resection and type IV patients were treated by partial hepatic resection with bilioenteric anastomosis, including extended hepatico-choledochojejunostomy. The majority of operative or early deaths belonged to type IV and residual stones were present in almost all patients. The long-term results for the 88 patients revealed that the rate of improvement was 100 per cent for type I, 87 per cent for type II, 83 per cent for type III and 84 per cent for type IV. In type IV, the most excellent results (92 per cent) were obtained by extended hepaticocholedochojejunostomy, especially with hepatectomy. It is suggested that extended hepaticocholedochojejunostomy with partial hepatic resection is a reasonable procedure for treating patients with type IV intrahepatic stones.

Two cases of intrahepatic gallstones with stenosis of the common hepatic duct caused by overriding of the right hepatic artery are described. The probable diagnosis of the compression of the bile duct by the artery was obtained by superimposing a direct cholangiogram on an angiogram. The final diagnosis was made at operation. The first patient was successfully treated by resection of the compressed common hepatic duct with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy anterior to the right hepatic artery. In the second patient, lateral segmentectomy and cholangiojejunostomy were performed.Arterial anomalies are not infrequent findings during biliary surgery. Variations in position of the cystic or hepatic arteries are well known. It is, however, very rarely reported that the extrahepatic bile duct is compressed by such arteries [I-5].Recently, the present authors experienced 2 cases of intrahepatic gallstones with stenosis of the common hepatic duct, which was caused by overriding of the right hepatic artery. The purposes of this paper are to report these rare cases and to discuss the significance of compression of the biliary tract by the right hepatic artery.