title: Bile duct injury following cholecystectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the epidemiological, clinical and surgical features of patients with iatrogenic bile duct injury (IBDI) attending the General Hospital of Fortaleza (HGF) during the period from 2005 to 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective study of medical records of patients admitted to HGF with the diagnosis of IBDI, evaluating the following variables: gender, age, origin, conditions of cholecystectomy, type of surgery, symptoms, exams performed, surgical findings, classification of injury, treatment, complications, total duration of hospitalization and discharge conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 27 confirmed cases of IBDI. Two injuries occurred during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Only one patient was diagnosed intraoperatively. The most frequent sign was jaundice after cholecystectomy. Hepato-duodenal Y-en-Roux anastomosis was the most often employed surgical technique (85.2%). Most patients were discharged from hospital in good clinical condition (88.8%), however, we found high morbidity rates for this disease, exemplified by the multiple hospitalizations and longer hospital stay (mean 31 days).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most injuries occurred during open cholecystectomy, jaundice was the most frequent sign upon admission. There was a high hospitalization length of stay, caused by postoperative complications, which could be explained by delayed diagnosis resulting in a large delay in treatment.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Geral de Fortaleza, CE, BR. blima_linhares@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Bruno Lima
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Linhares
authors.forename: Aline da Graça
authors.initials: Ada G
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.forename: Paula Mariana Soares
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Jaime Paula Pessoa
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Linhares Filho
authors.forename: José Eudes Bastos
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Pinho
authors.forename: Marcelo Leite Vieira
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult