Safety and Effectiveness Analysis of Different Surgical Methods for Intrahepatic Bile Duct Stones.

Background: Intrahepatic bile duct stones, a prevalent condition within hepato-biliary diseases, present a considerable challenge due to the high rates of recurrence, complications, and difficulty in treatment. Selecting an optimal surgical approach is vital for effective stone clearance and minimizing patient morbidity. While laparoscopic hepatectomy and percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopy are established modalities, their comparative efficacy and safety profiles necessitate further investigation to inform clinical decision-making.

Objective: To explore the effectiveness and safety of different surgical methods for intrahepatic bile duct stones.  Methods: The clinical data of 65 patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones admitted to Nanchong Central Hospital, China, from January 2021 to January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the differences in surgical methods, patients undergoing laparoscopic hepatectomy were included in the laparoscopic group (n = 33), and patients undergoing percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopy were included in the percutaneous transhepatic group (n = 32). The differences in perioperative indicators, inflammatory factors, postoperative complications, and one-year follow-up recurrence rates between the two groups were compared.

Results: Compared with percutaneous transhepatic group, laparoscopic group had significantly shorter operation time and hospitalization time (p < 0.05), and significantly higher blood loss (p < 0.05). After the operation, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the laparoscopic and percutaneous transhepatic groups were significantly lower than those in the same group before the operation (p < 0.05). CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the laparoscopic group were significantly lower than in the percutaneous transhepatic group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications and the recurrence rate of one-year follow-up between the laparoscopic group and the percutaneous transhepatic puncture group (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Laparoscopic hepatectomy and percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopy are both practical and safe, and the appropriate surgical scheme should be selected according to the patient's specific condition.