Congenital Absence of the Cystic Duct: A Rare but Significant Anomaly

Sachin Patil, Sudhir Jain, Ramachandra C. M. Kaza, Ronald S. Chamberlain

Department of Surgery, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.
Department of Surgery, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, USA.
Saint George’s University School of Medicine, St. George, Grenada.

DOI: 10.4236/ss.2013.44046                

Abstract

Cholecystectomy is the most common digestive tract surgery performed worldwide and injury to the bile duct leads to both acute and chronic sequelae. The incidence of bile duct injury is increased in the presence of severe inflammation and is compounded by congenital abnormalities of the biliary tract. Congenitally absent cystic duct is one such rare anomaly with significant surgical implications. So far only nine clear cases of congenitally absent cystic duct have been reported. In this report we describe two additional cases of a congenitally absent cystic duct and provide a comprehensive discussion of the clinical significance, and appropriate surgical management of this anomaly.

Keywords

Cystic Duct; Congenital Absence; Absent Cystic Duct

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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