Cholecystocholangiography vs cystic duct cholangiography during laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Intraoperative cholangiography performed during laparoscopic cholecystectomy provides an exact picture of the biliary anatomy. It may prevent iatrogenic bile duct injury and detect unsuspected common duct stones. Laparoscopic cannulation of the cystic duct can be difficult and time-consuming. We therefore evaluated the simpler technique of cholecystocholangiography by direct puncture and filling of the gallbladder with contrast medium. This technique was compared with cystic duct cholangiography in a prospective controlled trial of 69 patients. Cystic duct cholangiography (n=38) showed significantly better results than cholecystocholangiography (n=31) with optimal visualization of the biliary tree in 29 cases (76%) and seven cases (22%), respectively. The failure rate was 8% and 52%, respectively. Delineation of the cystic duct junction is important in order to prevent bile duct injury. The anatomy in this region was clearly delineated in 34 cases (89.5%) using cystic duct cholangiography but only in 11 cases (35.5%) with cholecystocholangiography. Cystic duct cholangiography revealed unsuspected common duct stones in three cases; however, choledocholithiasis was missed by cholecystocholangiography in at least two patients. Cystic duct cholangiography is clearly the optimal technique. In situations of unclear anatomy in which safe dissection of the cystic duct is not possible, cholecystocholangiography remains a useful alternative.