Isolated complete transection of the common bile duct due to blunt trauma in a child, and review of the literature

J Pediatr Surg. 1989 Oct;24(10):1068-70. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3468(89)80217-9.

Abstract

A case of isolated complete transection of the common bile duct due to blunt abdominal trauma in a 3-year-old child is presented. The rarity of this injury and its initial presentation as a pancreatic pseudocyst warrant its description. This patient, the fifteenth child to be reported in the literature, was diagnosed as having a biliary injury following ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage. Choledochal transection was documented at laparotomy and was successfully treated by proximal cholecystostomy and choledochojejunostomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction. Delayed diagnosis is common, but this injury should always be kept in mind. Early diagnosis is feasible with the use of the HIDA scan. A review of the literature, modes of diagnosis, and techniques for surgical repair are described.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • Common Bile Duct / diagnostic imaging
  • Common Bile Duct / injuries*
  • Common Bile Duct / surgery
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pancreatic Pseudocyst / diagnostic imaging
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Wounds, Nonpenetrating / diagnostic imaging
  • Wounds, Nonpenetrating / surgery*