Causes, diagnosis, and treatment of postoperative obstructive jaundice

AIM: This study aimed to analyze the causes, diagnosis, and clinical treatment of postoperative obstructive jaundice (POOJ) in routine surgical practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four patients with POOJ that developed in the organs of the hepatobiliary system after surgical interventions were included in this study. The patients were subjected to the following procedures to diagnose the causes of POOJ and choose the treatment methods: general clinical examination, biochemical blood tests, dynamic postoperative ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs, video laparoscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, fistulocholangiography, endoscopic retrograde cholagiopancreatography, and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiostomy.

RESULTS: POOJ occurred in 18 cases after they had different variants of surgical interventions on the biliary tract after traditional (n = 6) and video laparoscopic cholecystectomy (n = 12). POOJ also developed in 6 cases after they underwent surgery on the liver: atypical (n = 2) and anatomical (n = 2) resection of the liver. This condition manifested after the opening and draining of liver abscesses under US control (n = 2). POOJ was treated with different methods to alleviate the developed complications. After surgical interventions on the liver and biliary tract in 6 cases, relaparotomy, sequestrectomy with sanation, drainage of the abdominal cavity (n = 4), and right-sided hemihepatectomy (n = 2) were performed. In 6 other cases, on days 3–4 of the development of POOJ after laparoscopic operation (n = 2), relaparotomy was performed, clips and ligature were removed from the choledoch with the formation of Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. Minimally invasive methods of POOJ correction were applied to 12 cases. Of the 12 cases, 5, 2, and 1 were subjected to endoscopic papillosphincterotomy with lithoextraction, endoscopic papillosphincterotomy with lithoextraction coupled with nasobiliary drainage, and relaparoscopy and redrainage of the common bile duct, respectively. In 4 cases, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiostomy was performed at the first stage. At the second stage, after POOJ resolution, the following procedures were implemented: redrainage of the common bile duct (n = 2) and dilatation of the orifice of the right hepatic duct with reconstruction of hepaticojejunostomy on the hidden transhepatic drainage.

CONCLUSION: POOJ is still encountered in clinical practice in a sufficient number of cases. Treatment results largely depend on the time of diagnosis and the choice of optimal surgical strategies. The main causes of POOJ are tactical and technical diagnostic and treatment errors. POOJ is diagnosed on the basis of the data of modern radiation and laboratory and instrumental examination methods. Surgical tactics for POOJ are individually active and dependent on the severity, time, and causes of development. They also depend on the general condition of patients. Along with minimally invasive interventions for POOJ, early relaparotomy is less dangerous than passive expectation tactics.