Long-term outcomes after extrahepatic excision of congenital choladocal cysts: 30 years of experience at a single center.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Congenital choladocal cysts are generally treated by resection of the dilated extrahepatic biliary duct followed by hepaticojejunostomy, but it is associated with postoperative complications, including postoperative cholangitis, intrahepatic calculi, pancreatitis, and carcinogenesis, in the remnant bile duct. We investigated the most common long-term complications and identified the factors implicated in their development.
METHODOLOGY: We conducted a retrospective review and analysis of the long-term complications of 65 patients surgically treated for congenital choledochal cysts between 1978 and 2008 at one institute. The risk factors for intrahepatic calculi were identified based on the odds ratios of the implicated variables.
RESULTS: Cholangitis with high fever or abdominal pain was reported in 14 patients (21.5%), intrahepatic calculi in 12 (18.5%), pancreatitis in 3 (4.6%), and cholangiocarcinoma in 3 (4.6%). Diagnosis with type IVa choledochal cysts was the most significant risk factor, followed by age ≥30 years at the time of treatment, and the presence of preoperative intrahepatic calculi.
CONCLUSIONS: While precise and thorough surgical treatment is necessary to prevent the long-term development of complications after surgical excision of congenital choledochal cysts, it must be accompanied by long-term postoperative follow-up, especially of elderly patients and those with type IVa cysts.