Postoperative bile peritonitis.

Bile peritonitis may occur after open operations on the biliary tract or following needle biopsy of the liver. Usually it is secondary to rupture of the common duct caused by overlooked common duct stone.Sterile intraperitoneal bile collections may be tolerated fairly well for long periods. Placing drains in the abdomen after biliary tract operations helps prevent dangerous accumulations of bile. Patients with extensive bile peritonitis should be operated upon as soon as possible. Ideally, the operation should include drainage of the abdomen and repair of any underlying pathological cause, but the condition of the patient may be so poor that only drainage can be carried out at the moment.