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CASE REPORT
APSP J Case Rep 2010; Vol. 1 (2)
OPEN ACCESS
Partial Avulsion of Common Bile Duct and Duodenal Perforation in a
Blunt Abdominal Trauma
Bilal Mirza,* Lubna Ijaz, Shahid Iqbal, Afzal Sheikh
Department of Pediatric Surgery, The
Children's Hospital and the Institute of Child Health Lahore, Pakistan
*Corresponding Author's E-mail address: blmirza@yahoo.com
APSP J Case Rep 2010; 1: 19
ABSTRACT
Complete or partial avulsion of common bile duct
is a very rare injury following blunt abdominal trauma in children. A 7-year old
boy presented to ER following blunt abdominal trauma by a moving motorcycle. X
ray abdomen revealed free air under diaphragm and CT scan showed pancreatic
contusion injury. At operation anterior wall of common bile duct (CBD) along
with a 2mm rim of duodenal tissue on either side of anterior wall of CBD were
found avulsed from the duodenum. The avulsed portion of CBD and duodenum were
reanastomosed and a tube cholecystostomy performed. The patient had an
uneventful recovery.
KEY WORDS
Common bile duct, Avulsion, Blunt abdominal truama,
Duodenal perforation
HOW TO CITE
Mirza B,
Ijaz L, Iqbal S, Sheikh A. Partial avulsion of common bile duct and duodenal
perforation in a blunt abdominal trauma. APSP J Case Rep 2010;
1:19
INTRODUCTION
CBD avulsion in children, after a blunt
abdominal trauma, is an uncommon injury. This is often associated with hepatic,
duodenal, gastric and pancreatic injuries [1,2]. Avulsion of CBD may be complete
or partial. In any case the presentation depends upon the extent of biliary
peritonitis and associated injuries. Mostly the patients presented early within
2 to 4 days however delayed presentation has also been reported
[3,4].
The preoperative diagnosis of CBD avulsion is never recognized
preoperatively. A case of partial avulsion of CBD with duodenal perforation
presenting with pneumoperitoneum is being reported which were successfully
managed by primary repair.
CASE REPORT
A 7-year old boy was hit by
a motorcycle in the abdomen. The patient was brought to our hospital,
immediately after the incident, by emergency rescue service of the city. Patient
was in obvious pain with pulse 130/min and respiratory rate 35/min.
Patient was resuscitated. After stabilization an abdominal radiograph
and ultrasound were requested. Abdominal radiograph revealed free air under
diaphragm. Ultrasound of the abdomen showed a swollen pancreas with moderate
free fluid in the peritoneal cavity. A CT scan of the abdomen was then performed
that too delineated pancreatic injury [Image 1].
At operation, about a
liter of blood mixed with bile was drained from the peritoneal cavity. There was
a bruise in the area of second part of duodenum with small amount of bile in the
vicinity. Pancreas was edematous and swollen. Duodenum was mobilized and an
avulsion of the anterior wall of CBD having a rim of duodenal tissue (2mm) on
either side was noted that resulted in a rent of about 1cm in the duodenum. Bile
was freely coming from the ampulla of Vater [Image 2][Image 3]. The partially
avulsed CBD and duodenal rim were reanastomosed with duodenum in a single layer
using interrupted extramucosal stitches in the long axis of the CBD.
A tube cholecystostomy was then performed to divert the bile flow. The
postoperative recovery was uneventful. A tube cholangiogram was performed after
two weeks that showed free passage of contrast into the duodenum [Image 4]. Tube
was removed and spontaneous closure of the cholecysto-cutaneous fistula
occurred. Patient is doing well at a follow up of 6 months.
DISCUSSION
The blunt abdominal injuries may result in significant insult
to the various abdominal organs. Biliary tract injuries (gallbladder and CBD)
are less frequently reported and occur in addition to other visceral injuries
especially with liver, duodenum and pancreas. Isolated biliary tract injuries
are extremely rare and limited to few case reports [1-4]. In our case the
associated injuries were duodenal perforation and pancreatic
contusion.
Patients with biliary tract injuries usually
present early with signs of peritonitis and even shock, however, delayed
presentation has also been reported with abdominal pain, jaundice and other
vague symptoms [4-6].
The preoperative diagnosis of biliary tract
injuries is not easy and in majority of reported cases it was made at operation.
CBD may be avulsed, perforate or get contused following trauma. Rarely complete
avulsion of ampulla of Vater is reported. Most of the CBD avulsion injuries are
found at the level of pancreas, however, partial avulsion of CBD at the level of
insertion into the duodenum has not been reported before. In our case the
partial avulsion of CBD resulted in a tear in duodenum causing leakage of air
and bile in the peritoneal cavity.
For CBD avulsion injuries the
operative procedures include reinsertion into the duodenum
(choledochoduodenostomy), choledocho-choledochal anastomosis, ligation of distal
CBD and cholecysto-duodenal anastomosis, roux-en-y choledocho-jejunostomy and
portoenterostomy and so on [1]. We re-stitched the duodenal rim and the
anterior wall of CBD with duodenal wall in the long axis of the CBD,
extramucosally, thus sparing the lumen of CBD. Tube cholecystostomy was also
done for bile diversion.
Pancreatic injuries may result in
pancreatitis or as a late presentation pseudcyst may develop [7]. In our case no
such complication occurred. The other concern is related to narrowing of
repaired part of CBD. This is less likely in our case as posterior wall of CBD
was intact, however a long term follow up is planned to observe this
complication.
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