Effects of definitive repair surgery on health-related quality of life in patients with bile duct injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Objective To investigate the effects of definitive repair surgery on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with bile duct injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Methods The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 181 patients with bile duct injury caused by LC for benign gallbladder diseases who underwent definitive repair surgery and 50 patients without complications after LC for benign gallbladder diseases in the Mianyang Central Hospital from January 2000 to December 2017 were collected. There were 82 males and 99 females of 181 patients with bile duct injury, aged from 31 to 68 years, with an average age of 47 years. Definitive repair surgery was performed according to different types of bile duct injury, and questionnaire of HRQOL was conducted preoperatively and one year after operation. There were 18 males and 32 females of 50 patients without complications after LC, aged from 35 to 69 years, with an average age of 41 years. Questionnaire of HRQOL was conducted on LC patients without complications one year after operation. Observation indicators: (1) classification of bile duct injury; (2) intraoperative situations of definitive repair surgery; (3) postoperative situations of definitive repair surgery; (4) follow-up; (5) results of the SF-36 scale assessment. Follow-up was conducted by outpatient examination and telephone interview up to December 2018. Patients were reexamined liver function and color Doppler ultrasonography once every 6-12 months, and further magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) or computed tomography examination to detect recurrence of anastomotic biliary stricture and cholangitis. Measurement data with normal distribution were expressed as Mean±SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed by the paired t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (range), and count data were described as absolute numbers. Results (1) Classification of bile duct injury: of the 181 patients with bile duct injury, there were 64 cases of E1 type, 70 cases of E2 type, 35 cases of E3 type, 9 cases of E4 type, and 3 cases of E5 type. (2) Intraoperative situations of definitive repair surgery: all the 181 patinets with bile duct injury underwent definitive repair surgery successfully, including 61 undergoing end-to-end biliary anastomosis, 109 undergoing Roux-en-Y choledojejunostomy, 11 undergoing hemi-hepatectomy combined with Roux-en-Y anastomosis. There were 52 patients combined with hilar cholangioplasty. The operation time and volume of intraoperative blood loss of 181 patients were (190±126) minutes and 601.5 mL (range, 150.0-2 100.0 mL). There were 24 cases with blood transfusion and 18 cases with T-tube stent. (3) Postoperative situations of definitive repair surgery: 40 of 181 patients had complications, including 14 cases of incisional infection, 10 cases of bile leakage, 8 cases of perihepatic effusion, 7 cases of pulmonary infection, and 1 case of abdominal hemorrhage. The patient with postoperative abdominal hemorrhage underwent reoperation for hemostasis, and other patients with complications were cured after ultrasound-guided puncture and drainage or conservative treatment. Duration of postoperative hospital stay of 181 patients with bile duct injury was 12.6 days (range, 6.0-34.0 days). There was no perioperative death occurred. (4) Follow-up: 157 of 181 patients were followed up for 8.2-201.3 months, with a median follow-up time of 92.7 months. Twenty-eight patients had anastomotic stricture recurred, 16 of which were treated with reoperation, 10 were treated with endoscopic stent implantation, and 2 cases were treated with balloon dilatation in interventional department; the stricture was repaired again in all cases. Thirteen patients had recurrent cholangitis, showing no obvious anastomotic stricture on MRCP, and symptoms can be effectively controlled after conservative treatment. (5) Results of the SF-36 scale assessment: 181 patients with bile duct injury completed the SF-36 scales before definitive repair surgery, and 157 completed one year after definitive repair surgery. All the 50 patients without complications completed SF-36 scales one year after LC. The scores of HRQOL in physiological function, role functioning, somatic pain, general health, vitality, social function, emotional function, mental health, the scores of physical component summary, and mental component summary of 181 patients with bile duct injury before surgery were 79±15, 65±12, 40±17, 42±14, 59±20, 27±15, 48±23, 56±22, 60±11, and 56±11, respectively. The above indices one year after definitive repair surgery were 87±10, 78±15, 71±20, 64±20、68±19, 70±25, 67±21, 69±23, 71±13, 68±15, respectively. The above indices of 50 patients without complications one year after LC were 90±13, 81±20, 87±16, 72±20, 73±15, 86±17, 79±22, 77±19, 82±18, 79±18, respectively. The 181 patients with bile duct injury had significant elevation in above indices one year after definitive repair surgery (t=2.051, 2.016, 3.875, 3.014, 2.563, 3.225, 2.964, 2.357, 2.150, 2.203, P 0.05). Conclusion Definitive repair surgery can significantly improve HRQOL in patients with bile duct injury caused by LC. Key words: Bile duct injury; Bile duct stricture; Cholangitis; Cholecystectomy; Health-related quality of life; Definitive repair surgery; Laparoscopy