Laparoscopic repair of various types of biliary-enteric fistula: three cases

Biliary-enteric fistula is one of the reasons for converting from laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) to open surgery. Here we present three cases of various types of biliary-enteric fistula treated successfully by laparoscopic surgery. Two cases were diagnosed preoperatively, and the remaining case intraoperatively. The first patient had a cholecystoduodenal fistula with a common bile duct stone. The second patient had cholecystocolic and choledochoduodenal fistulas with a common bile duct stone, and the third patient had a cholecystogastric fistula. The fistulas were repaired laparoscopically by intracorporeal suturing or with an endoscopic linear stapling device. All the patients had good postoperative courses without any postoperative complication. Our experience has shown us that with advances in surgical skills and instruments, laparoscopic surgery for biliary-enteric fistula can be adopted as the first treatment choice regardless of the preoperative diagnosis.