INTRODUCTION OF A SAFETY ZONE FOR THE SAFETY OF LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY

Anatomic variations of the biliary tract were found in 18 cases of 600 patients (3.0%) undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. All bile duc t anomalies were confirmed preoperatively by endoscopic retrograde cho langiography. In every case, the cystic duct and cystic artery were ex posed in a ''safety zone'' near the gallbladder neck in Calot's triang le. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was successfully performed on all 18 cases. Intraoperative cholangiography clearly demonstrated the anatomi c variations in all cases, unequivocally identified the cystic duct, a nd confirmed the absence of bile duct injury. Preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and intraoperative cholangiography, which h ave been performed routinely in all patients, improve the safety of la paroscopic cholecystectomy. Moreover, the observance of the essential rule of ''keep operating in the safety zone'' protects against inadver tent complications, especially against bile duct injury during laparos copic cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was thus successfu lly performed on all 600 cases in the present series, except for three cases, which were converted to open surgery (conversion rates, 0.5%), because of pin-hole bleeding on the portal vein in our first case of 600, and severe adhesion in two (46th and 302nd) cases.