MRCP in the diagnosis of iatrogenic bile duct injury.

Postoperative biliary tract lesions are becoming increasingly common. The diagnosis is made by direct cholangiography via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC). The present comparative study evaluates the diagnostic efficacy of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in application to iatrogenic bile duct injury. A prospective blind study was performed, contrasting MRCP and ERCP in 10 patients with suspected postoperative biliary tract lesions. MRCP was performed less than 72 h before ERCP. Final diagnosis was made on the basis of findings at surgery and ERCP. The presence of biliary dilatation, excision injury, stricture, fluid collection and free fluid was analyzed. The mean patient age was 66.5 years. There were three males and seven females. The type of postoperative lesion (Bergman classification) are five patients type C, three type D, one type B and one type A. Diagnostic failure was recorded in two cases with ERCP, while in five patients it was unable to define a therapeutic approach. In contrast, MRCP correctly diagnosed all patients. MRCP is effective in diagnosing postoperative biliary tract lesions, and can help decide the best therapeutic approach. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.