[Our experience in the management of patients with Mirizzi syndrome]

The authors report their experience in the management of patients with Mirizzi Syndrome (MS) admitted, over a period of 15 years, at the General Surgery of Emergency Department of Cardarelli Hospital, Naples, Italy. All patients were admitted and surgically treated in emergency save for one. Out of 12 patients, cholecystectomy was performed in 7 cases. In others 5 patients, with cholecystocholedochal fistula, cholecystectomy with positionig of T-Tube was performed in 4 cases (MS-II); finally, 1 patient with MS type III undewrwent choledochojejunostomy. According to literature, the diagnostic protocol included abdominal ultrasonography and CT scan of the abdomen for all patients; in one case, a cholangio-MRI was performed to clarify the diagnosis. The preoperative diagnosis is essential to reduce risk of iatrogenic injuries. The cholangio-MRI, used to this extent, clarifies the site of obstruction, shows the anatomy of the biliary tree and allows to make all the possible differential diagnoses in order to exclude the presence of biliary tumors before surgery. The intraoperative cholangiography remains mandatory to clarify the anatomy of the biliary tree. In the cases we have treated, ERCP was never performed. We believe that ERCP has limited indications and unsatisfactory outcomes for both diagnosis and treatment of MS. Pathological examination of the fresh-frozen surgical specimens was always performed intraoperatively to exclude the presence of concomitant cancer of the gallbladder. The traditional treatment of patients with MS is surgery, as confirmed by our experience. We perform cholecystectomy for MS type I and cholecystectomy with direct repair of the biliary fistula over aT tube for MS type II. Patients with MS type III usually undergo a tailored operation based on the intraoperative findings, while choledochojejunostomy is mandatory for patients with MS type IV. Laparoscopic surgery is indicated only for MS type I and II. It seems to carry a higher risk for the patient and we do not use this approach in the emergency settings.