Biliary leakage from gallbladder bed after cholecystectomy: Luschka duct or hepaticocholecystic duct?

Anatomic variations in the biliary tract are common and can cause difficulties when a cholecystectomy is performed. One of the most common ones are hepaticocholecystic ducts and Luschka ducts, connecting the gallbladder or its bed to the bile ducts but distinction between these two types of ducts can be difficult. We do discuss here the differences between these anatomical variations, their origin and their clinical implications. These aberrant ducts may go unnoticed and may require further complementary procedures in case of postoperative biliary leakage. In addition to a careful surgical procedure and an examination of the cystic bed in the end of the intervention, an intraoperative cholangiography should be performed as often as possible.