Background and Objective: Bile duct injury is a devastating complication following cholecystectomy with significant impact on treatment outcome. The incidence of bile duct injury following laparoscopic cholecystectomy varies between studies. This study aimed to establish the incidence of bile duct injury following laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and factors related to this complication.
Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study conducted in Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, using records of patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy between January 2552 and December 2561.
Result: In all, 771 patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Bile duct injuries were found in 11 patients, giving a cumulative incidence of 1.43% (95%CI: 0.71 2.54). All victims had preoperative diagnosis only by ultrasound, had no previous Cholecystitis diagnosis, and had no anatomical variation. Conversion to open surgery was the only variable significantly related to bile duct injury (OR 9.16 (1.85 - 45.46), p = 0.007). Bile duct injury victims needed significantly longer hospitalization than non-victims, 18.82 ± 15.48 days compared to 4.39 ± 2.73 days, (p <0.001).
Conclusion: This study showed incidence of bile duct injury at 1.43% of patients and related to conversion to open surgery during procedure.