Surgical anatomy of the cystic artery: A systematic review with meta-analysis

The current evidence-based systematic review with meta-analysis presents a detailed overview of the cystic artery (CA) surgical anatomy, including its origin, number, topography, and morphometry. Moreover, the surgical implications of these variants are further discussed.

According to the Evidence-Based Anatomy Workgroup and PRISMA 2020 guidelines, the systematic review was performed using four online databases. The Anatomical Quality Assurance Tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias. Meta-analysis was performed with the R programming software. The pooled prevalence and pooled mean of different CA parameters were calculated.

The CA most commonly originated from the right hepatic artery (a pooled prevalence of 85.75 %). Other described origins (in order of frequency) were the aberrant right hepatic artery, the common hepatic, the left hepatic, the gastroduodenal, the superior mesenteric, and the middle hepatic arteries. The CA was single in 88.59 %, while it can be identified as double, triple, or absent. Most commonly, it was located inside the cystohepatic triangle in 83.83 %. Most commonly, it was superomedially to the cystic duct (77.80 %) and posteriorly to the common hepatic duct (35.08 %). The CA pooled mean length was 21.34 mm, and its diameter was more commonly over 1 mm.

The CA surgical anatomy is paramount when operating on the gallbladder. The CA's altered anatomy and adjacent area could lead to confusion, iatrogenic injury, and prolonged surgical time. The CA depicts high morphological variability; therefore, surgeons should consider the typical anatomy and possible (usual and unusual) variants.