Mirizzi's syndrome: diagnostic and surgical considerations in 25 patients

Mirizzi's syndrome is a rare complication of long-standing cholelithiasis. Many surgical approaches of varying complexity have been advocated for treatment. However, the distorted extrahepatic biliary anatomy continues to be threatening, with a high risk of biliary complications. Presented here is a series of 25 patients with Mirizzi's syndrome who were treated at the Dokuz Eylul University Hospital since 1985. Type I lesion (without cholecystocholedochal fistula) was encountered in 11 patients, while the remaining 14 had type II lesions (with cholecystocholedochal fistula). Preoperative diagnoses were made in 14 of the 25 patients (56%). Follow-up in 17 patients ranged from 1 to 96 months (mean, 40 months). Unfortunately, the remaining 8 patients were lost to follow-up after discharge. The morbidity rate in our series was 32%, while no mortality was encountered. During long-term follow-up, no biliary stricture was diagnosed. Following an uneventful postoperative course, all of our patients are symptom-free and doing well, with normal liver function. We conclude that partial cholecystectomy alone is a safe and sound surgical approach for the treatment of type I lesions. For type II lesions, depending on the size of the fistula, either primary closure over a T-tube, or bilio-digestive anastomosis, preferably Roux-en-Y, can be an appropriate treatment modality, with a low morbidity rate.