Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Without Handling the Cystic Artery: A New Approach to Minimize Complications

Introduction: Although laparoscopy has now become the procedure of choice for removal of gallbladder, complications especially injury to cystic artery and ducts are thought to be higher. We describe a technique that avoids handling and injury of cystic artery and resultant duct injuries. The video length is 2 minutes 13 seconds.

Materials and Methods: From October 7, 2005, to December 31, 2010, 17 patients were successfully operated by the cystic artery sparing technique. In this technique, dissection begins distal to cystic lymph node on the gallbladder wall using hook cautery, thereby clears the Calot's triangle without even touching the cystic artery. This maneuver eliminates the risk of injuring thus causing bleeding and any subsequent complications. Age, sex, and operative outcomes including follow-ups were evaluated.

Results: Age of the patients ranged from 3.4 years to 16 years with an average of 10.12 years. Males were predominant (10:7). Average operative time was 40 minutes. There were no intraoperative or immediate postoperative complications. Patients were allowed feeding 4–6 hours after operation and discharged the following morning. Patients were asked to come for follow-up at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year and thereafter yearly. Follow-up period ranged from 6 months to 5 years. There were no operation-related complications other than minor abdominal pain in 3 patients and port-site pain in 2 patients which resolved on conservative treatments.

Conclusion: During laparoscopic cholecystectomy, if handling of the main cystic artery is avoided then complications of hemorrhage and bile duct injuries can be minimized.