Factors Influencing Bile Duct Injuries: A Dreaded Complication of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Bile duct injuries (BDIs) are dreaded complications of one of the most common general surgical procedures. The injury impacts the quality of life and may have several long-term complications. In some cases, it can also lead to mortality. This paper aims to review works that have already been published about bile duct injuries and elaborate on the factors leading to it. This includes elaborating on both surgical and non-surgical factors. It also plans to highlight practices and methods to avoid BDIs. Medical research databases were searched using cholecystectomy and bile duct injuries as keywords. Papers including pre-operative or intraoperative factors, that may cause bile duct injuries, were further shortlisted for this study. Understanding and knowledge of anatomy plays a key role in bile duct injuries and is essential before performing the surgery. Factors related to the patients, surgeons, and logistics also play a major role in causing bile duct injuries. Bile duct injuries can be reduced using certain strategies like the B SAFE strategy, R4U line, bail-out methods, imaging techniques along with referrals to Hepatobiliary specialist centers to avoid bile duct injuries.