[Diagnosis and therapy of bile duct cysts in adults]

Today the main problem of bile duct cysts is based on their optimal therapy. Conservative approaches only are fit for single selected cases because of the complications and lethality rate inherent to these methods. The usual operative treatment with internal derivation of the cyst by diversion to an intestinal loop does not take account the nowadays well documented risk of development of cancer in the cyst's tissue, mainly in the adult patient. The modern classification according to Todani et al. [14] offers the possibility for a selective approach with regard to the local anatomic-pathological relations found in the intrahepatic as well as in the extrahepatic biliary tree in such patients. The problems of the clinical picture, diagnosis and therapy are discussed on the basis of 6 cases seen at our centre.