Copyright
©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2017; 23(29): 5438-5450
Published online Aug 7, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i29.5438
Published online Aug 7, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i29.5438
Laparoscopic ultrasonography as an alternative to intraoperative cholangiography during laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Alexandra Dili, Claude Bertrand, Unit of Digestive, Endocrine and General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University Hospital - Godinne, Université catholique de Louvain, CHU UCL Namur, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium
Author contributions: Both authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: These data were extracted from the referenced articles and are already in the public domain.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Claude Bertrand, Unit of Digestive, Endocrine and General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University Hospital - Godinne, Université catholique de Louvain, CHU UCL Namur, Av. Docteur G. Thérasse 1, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium. cl.bertrand@uclouvain.be
Telephone: +32-81-423051 Fax: +32-81-423051
Received: January 30, 2017
Peer-review started: February 8, 2017
First decision: March 3, 2017
Revised: April 8, 2017
Accepted: June 19, 2017
Article in press: June 19, 2017
Published online: August 7, 2017
Peer-review started: February 8, 2017
First decision: March 3, 2017
Revised: April 8, 2017
Accepted: June 19, 2017
Article in press: June 19, 2017
Published online: August 7, 2017
Core Tip
Core tip: Laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) during cholecystectomy allows a non-invasive study of the biliary tract, with an excellent ability to detect common bile duct stones and identify anatomy. Unlike intraoperative cholangiography, LUS can be performed before Calot’s triangle dissection, which facilitates the mapping of biliary and hilar structures during difficult scenarios such as severe inflammation and fibrosis. Cheap, quick, and non-irradiating LUS can be repeated at will during the operation. Adjacent organs can also be examined, allowing incidental findings. Our review of the recent literature highlights the advantages of LUS, despite its underuse, particularly in difficult cholecystectomies when the anatomy is obscured.