Intraoperative cholangiography for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Intraoperative cholangiography in the course of laparoscopic cholecystectomy is not only valuable to detect common bile duct stones, but also to delineate the anatomy of the biliary ducts, facilitate the dissection, avoid injuries to the biliary tract and identify other abnormalities, such as fistulas, cysts and tumors of the biliary system. Most surgeons use a variation of the transcystic injection of contrast. We describe herein a technique of cholangiography through the gallbladder, performed before starting any dissection in the cystic duct area, which has resulted in a rate of 92 percent of adequate cholangiograms and has proved to be easier, by far, and safer than the transcystic technique. A comparison was made between 405 instances of open cholecystectomies and 200 laparoscopic cholecystectomies with transcystic cholangiograms and 105 laparoscopic cholecystectomies with cholangiograms done through the gallbladder. All instances were done for symptomatic chronic or acute calculous cholecystitis. Satisfactory cholangiograms were obtained in 95 percent of open cholecystectomies and in only 68 percent of transcystic laparoscopic attempts. Complications and false-positive findings were seen in transcystic laparoscopic procedures in five and six instances, respectively. Cholangiography performed through the gallbladder was 100 percent successful among 73 patients with chronic cholecystitis and in 66 percent of 32 patients with acute calculous cholecystitis. For optimal visualization of the bile ducts, it is essential to exert pressure on the gallbladder after the injection of contrast to advance the contrast through the cystic duct. This is greatly facilitated by the use of a double-balloon catheter to avoid leak at the site of the gallbladder puncture.