Pathological changes of bile duct injury after orthotopic liver transplantation

Wenxiang TAN; Yulong YANG; Xiaoguang WANG; Weili FU

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Complications, caused by bile duct injury after liver transplantation, are difficult for diagnosis and treatmerit and the bottlenecks for the development of liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE:

To observe and record bile duct injury and do biopsy in parallel with treating biliary complications following liver transplantation successfully with choledochoscope, and to analyze the relationships between various bile duct injuries, histopathological types and biliary complications following liver transplantation. DESIGN, TIME AND

SETTING:

Case analysis was carried out at Dalian Institute of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery. Dalian Friendship Hospital between July 2001 and October 2005.

PARTICIPANTS:

Nineteen patients after liver transplantation were divided into three groups according to the occurrence of biliary complications four cases for normal group, twelve cases for bile duct injury group, three cases for hepatic artery miury group.

METHODS:

They were observed. diagnosed and recorded respectively and take biopsy for pathological analysis through the choledochoscope. With regard to the cases without T-tube. Choledochoscope combined duodenoscope were used to take biopsies. MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

Choledochoscope was used to observe T-tube cholangiography, the appearances and pathological changes of intemal and external bile duct mucous membrane. healing of the donor-receptor bile duct stoma. Patients in the bile duct injury group were done examinations described above after endoscopic stone extraction and stenosis expansion.

RESULTS:

The intemal and extemal bile duct anatomy of the patients in the normal group were normal, without bile ductstenosis and scar, their bile duct mucous membrane lookcd good, and the anastomosis of the donor-receptor bile duct healed well. Restored mucous tissue coating with intact epithelium was found by pathological examination. Various kinds of bile duct stones, simple, multiple and casting mould stones, were found in patients of the bile duct injury group. Bile duct mucous membranes were injured at different degrees and repaired after removing stones and relieving obstruction by endoscope. Contrast examination demonstrated that bile duct tree regained normal. In hepatic artery injury group, patients had bile duct wall ischemic necrosis and lost bile duct normal structure, congestion was obvious, biliary sludge and stones completely filled in the bile duct tree. Interrupted bile duct structure were found in Ⅲ grade bile ducts.Pathological examination revealed extensive bile duct wall necrosis,indistinct strcture,more bile infiltration,proliferative granulation tissue and suppuration focus.

CONCLUSION:

Bile ducts are injured at different degrees in orthotopic liver transplantation;cold preservation/repeffusion injury is the most important initiating agent leading to bile duct tree injuries;the vessel plexus damage and microcirculatory disturbance surrounding the bile ducts maybe one of the mechanisms of the bile duct injury.