ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the etiology,clinical characteristics,diagnosis and treatment of the bile duct perforation in children.Methods The clinical data of 7 children with the bile duct perforation were retrospectively summarized in Wuhan Children's Hospital from April of 2009 to April of 2014.Results There were 7 cases of the children with perforation of the bile duct,1 male and 6 female,the average age was 2.05 years.The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal distension in 7 cases(100.0％),nausea and vomiting in 6 cases(85.7％),abdominal pain in 5 cases(71.4％),jaundice in 1 case(14.3％) and diarrhea in 1 case(14.3％).Six cases experienced preoperative abdominal paracentesis,which all gained bilious ascites.Both abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography(CT) showed ascites in 5 cases.On exploration,sites of perforation were seen in 3 cases(42.8％) at the junction of the common hepatic duct and cystic duct,1 case(14.3％) at common hepatic duct,and 1 case(14.3％) at common bile duct,while sites of perforation in other 2 cases(28.6％) were not localized.In the cases(case 1,2,5 and 7) whose site of perforation was large,the T-tube drainage and peritoneal drainage through laparotomy or laparoscopic surgery was performed.In case 4 whose site of perforation was very small,and case 3 and 6 whose site of perforation was not localized,the cholysystostomy and peritoneal drainage was performed through laparotomy or laparoscopic surgery.Simple closure of the perforation was performed in case 4.Case 4 and 5 showed recurrent abdominal pain after operation and abdominal CT revealed biliary tract dilatation,and then biliary reconstruction was performed.Both of the patients recovered well postoperatively.The other 5 children recovered well and had an uneventful postoperative period from the 7 months to 5 years follow-up.Conclusions Early diagnosis of perforation of the bile duct can be made based on clinical manifestations,abdominal ultrasound and CT and abdominal paracentesis.Active surgical treatment should be performed once diagnosis was made.Depending on the size of perforation of the bile duct,appropriate surgical drainage scheme is made.The children with recurrent abdominal pain and biliary tract dilatation should receive biliary reconstruction.