Establishment of a Sprague-Dawley rat model of hepatolithiasis based on common bile duct catheterization

Figure 3 Common bile duct catheterization: Operative steps. A: Exposure of the common bile duct (white arrow); the duct runs alongside the portal vein and hepatic artery; B: Blunt dissection of the common bile duct using microsurgical forceps; C: Catheter in situ with initial fixation sutures in place and bile flowing freely from the tube; D: Abdominal closure; the catheter passes through the peritoneum and muscle layer; E: Catheter fixed to the abdominal wall before skin closure; F: External catheter externalized and fixed to the back of the neck, leaving 3 cm of the tube exposed; G: Schematic of a 1-mm-long longitudinal incision in the wall of the common bile duct made using a 26-G needle; H: Schematic of insertion of the silicone tube through the incision in the bile duct using a curved clamp while the guidewire is removed; I: Schematic of the final fixation configuration: Bile duct sutures, sleeve suture to the mesentery, and back fixation suture to the mesentery.