Ethanol injection therapy of an isolated bile duct associated with a biliary-cutaneous fistula.

Bile leakage after hepatic resection often results in the formation of a biliary-cutaneous fistula. Such a fistula, when caused by an isolated bile duct in the remnant liver, can be intractable. We report a successful case of ethanol injection therapy of an isolated bile duct. A 73-year-old man underwent right hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. Bile leakage occurred after surgery, and the patient developed a biliary-cutaneous fistula. Fistulography revealed an isolated bile duct in the remnant portion of the caudate lobe without communication to the main biliary system. As conservative management with simple drainage was ineffective, injection therapy with ethanol was performed with a balloon occlusion catheter. After 11 therapy sessions, the bile duct was eradicated, and the biliary- cutaneous fistula was completely healed. The post-treatment course was uneventful. Ethanol injection therapy can be a choice for management of patients with a biliary fistula caused by an isolated bile duct. (C) 2002 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.