Korean J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg.  2000 Oct;4(2):233-235.

Spontaneous Rupture of the Hepatic Duct

• Han C
• Koo WH
• Roh JH
• Cho CK
• Kim HJ

Abstract

Spontaneous rupture of the bile duct is an exceedingly rare and usually recognized fatal cause of peritonitis and intraabdominal sepsis. Several reports of isolated cases have demonstrated its rarity in the absence of operative trauma or severe injury. Perforation of the biliary system occurs most frequently in the gall bladder, which perforation of the hepatic duct is less common, being described mainly in infants, but extremely rarely in adults. The diagnosis of the spontaneous rupture of the bile duct depends on meticulous clinical examination and imaging investigation. The basic principles of treatment are to stop the bile leakage, evacuate the extravasated bile, apply decortication of the encapsulated fluid collection and provide adequate drainage. We report on a patient with spontaneous perforation of the right hepatic duct who presented with abdominal pain, jaundice and fever. Exploratory surgery showed proximal common bile duct obstruction with right hepatic duct perforation.

Keyword

Hepatic duct; Spontaneous rupture

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain
Adult
Bile
Bile Ducts
Biliary Tract
Common Bile Duct
Diagnosis
Drainage
Fever
Hepatic Duct, Common*
Humans
Infant
Jaundice
Peritonitis
Rupture, Spontaneous*
Sepsis
Urinary Bladder