Novel sutureless cholangiojejunostomy: initial experience with 11 cases

Background It has become increasingly necessary to develop a reliable sutureless technique to replace the conventional hand-sewn one for carrying out bilioenteric anastomosis. Methods A new sutureless technique for cholangiojejunostomy is described, and a retrospective review was conducted of a prospectively collected database, which included 11 patients who underwent sutureless cholangiojejunostomy between April 2005 and July 2006. Results All patients successfully underwent sutureless cholangiojejunostomy, including choledochojejunostomy and hepaticojejunostomy. Median operative time was 13 minutes. There were no mortalities and no postoperative morbidities directly related to cholangiojejunostomy. At a mean follow-up period of 8.2 months, no patients had evidence of anastomotic stricture, except for 1 patient who developed obstructive jaundice because the recurrent tumor was pressing against the hepaticojejunal anastomosis. Conclusions Sutureless cholangiojejunostomy is simple, reliable, and feasible. Further larger-series studies, with longer follow-up periods and involving further improvements of the technique, are necessary before this procedure can become routine.