Congenital absence of the anatomic common bile duct. Case report

In congenital absence of the anatomic common bile duct, all bile from the liver drains into the gallbladder and thence to the duodenum via the cystic duct. A likely consequence of cholecystectomy then is discontinuity of hepatic drainage, since the gallbladder and cystic duct appear normal, and the anomaly is so rare that it is not considered.