Background: After the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), scientific discussion and concern about iatrogenic bile duct injuries (BDIs) have been limited mostly to BDIs sustained in LC, while BDIs sustained in open cholecystectomy (OC) and in all cholecystectomies have not been the center of attention.
Methods: This study included all patients who sustained BDI in OC or LC in southwest Finland between 1997 and 2007. All data were collected retrospectively in June 2009.
Results: Altogether 75 BDIs were encountered in a total of 8349 cholecystectomies, for an overall incidence of 0.90%. Twenty BDIs (15 Amsterdam type A and 5 type B, C, or D) occurred in the 1616 OCs (incidence rate = 1.24%), and 55 (26 type A and 29 type B, C, or D) in the 6733 LCs (incidence rate = 0.82%). All the BDIs in the OCs were missed while 11/29 of the major BDIs in the LCs were detected at the time of surgery. Fifty-four of 59 type A, B, and C BDIs could be treated endoscopically.
Conclusions: In the laparoscopic era, OC is associated with a high number of BDIs, if minor BDIs are included. Excluding some major LC BDIs, BDIs are, as a rule, missed at the time of surgery. More than 90% of Amsterdam types A, B, and C BDIs can be treated endoscopically, whereas type D BDI remains an absolute indication for surgery.