Introduction: Cystic dilatation of the bile ducts, or choledochal cyst, is a rare congenital disorder of the biliary tree, usually discovered in childhood. It is uncommon and only presents in adulthood in 20% of cases. Material and methods: Over a 23-year period from 2003 to 2026, we operated on 12 consecutive patients with congenital cystic dilatation of the bile ducts. There were 2 men and 10 women with a mean age of 49.1 years (range: 21–78 years). The cystic dilatation of the bile ducts was classified according to the Todani classification as type I in 9 cases, type II in 1 case, type IVa in 1 case, and type V in 1 case. Complete resection of the cyst was performed for types I, II, and IV. In one case, an adenocarcinoma of the common bile duct cyst was discovered upon examination of the surgical specimen. Drug treatment was prescribed for type V. Results: All our patients were symptomatic. The isolated or combined clinical signs leading to the discovery of the lesion were abdominal pain in all patients, jaundice and fever in 75% (9 cases) and 41.7% (5 cases), respectively. Postoperative complications were marked by episodes of acute cholangitis, which were more or less successfully controlled by percutaneous drainage combined with antibiotic therapy. Conclusion: The treatment of congenital cystic dilatations of the bile ducts must follow a strategy adapted to each type of malformation. Cystoenteric anastomosis is contraindicated, and resection should be as complete as possible.
| Published in | Journal of Surgery (Volume 14, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.js.20261405.12 |
| Page(s) | 106-114 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Congenital Cystic Dilatations, Bile Ducts, Surgery, Excision
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APA Style
Meziane, H., Katia, D., Amar, B., Sonia, M., Samir, A. H., et al. (2026). Congenital Cystic Dilatations of the Bile Ducts in Adults. Journal of Surgery, 14(5), 106-114. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.js.20261405.12
ACS Style
Meziane, H.; Katia, D.; Amar, B.; Sonia, M.; Samir, A. H., et al. Congenital Cystic Dilatations of the Bile Ducts in Adults. J. Surg. 2026, 14(5), 106-114. doi: 10.11648/j.js.20261405.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.js.20261405.12,
author = {Habarek Meziane and Dali Katia and Bentabet Amar and Merzouki Sonia and Ait Hamadouche Samir and Matmar Kader and Aissat Abdenour and Ladjouzi Fares and Ait Gharbi Saliha and Saad Saliha and Sbaihi Abdelah},
title = {Congenital Cystic Dilatations of the Bile Ducts in Adults},
journal = {Journal of Surgery},
volume = {14},
number = {5},
pages = {106-114},
doi = {10.11648/j.js.20261405.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.js.20261405.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.js.20261405.12},
abstract = {Introduction: Cystic dilatation of the bile ducts, or choledochal cyst, is a rare congenital disorder of the biliary tree, usually discovered in childhood. It is uncommon and only presents in adulthood in 20% of cases. Material and methods: Over a 23-year period from 2003 to 2026, we operated on 12 consecutive patients with congenital cystic dilatation of the bile ducts. There were 2 men and 10 women with a mean age of 49.1 years (range: 21–78 years). The cystic dilatation of the bile ducts was classified according to the Todani classification as type I in 9 cases, type II in 1 case, type IVa in 1 case, and type V in 1 case. Complete resection of the cyst was performed for types I, II, and IV. In one case, an adenocarcinoma of the common bile duct cyst was discovered upon examination of the surgical specimen. Drug treatment was prescribed for type V. Results: All our patients were symptomatic. The isolated or combined clinical signs leading to the discovery of the lesion were abdominal pain in all patients, jaundice and fever in 75% (9 cases) and 41.7% (5 cases), respectively. Postoperative complications were marked by episodes of acute cholangitis, which were more or less successfully controlled by percutaneous drainage combined with antibiotic therapy. Conclusion: The treatment of congenital cystic dilatations of the bile ducts must follow a strategy adapted to each type of malformation. Cystoenteric anastomosis is contraindicated, and resection should be as complete as possible.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Congenital Cystic Dilatations of the Bile Ducts in Adults AU - Habarek Meziane AU - Dali Katia AU - Bentabet Amar AU - Merzouki Sonia AU - Ait Hamadouche Samir AU - Matmar Kader AU - Aissat Abdenour AU - Ladjouzi Fares AU - Ait Gharbi Saliha AU - Saad Saliha AU - Sbaihi Abdelah Y1 - 2026/10/23 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.js.20261405.12 DO - 10.11648/j.js.20261405.12 T2 - Journal of Surgery JF - Journal of Surgery JO - Journal of Surgery SP - 106 EP - 114 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-0930 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.js.20261405.12 AB - Introduction: Cystic dilatation of the bile ducts, or choledochal cyst, is a rare congenital disorder of the biliary tree, usually discovered in childhood. It is uncommon and only presents in adulthood in 20% of cases. Material and methods: Over a 23-year period from 2003 to 2026, we operated on 12 consecutive patients with congenital cystic dilatation of the bile ducts. There were 2 men and 10 women with a mean age of 49.1 years (range: 21–78 years). The cystic dilatation of the bile ducts was classified according to the Todani classification as type I in 9 cases, type II in 1 case, type IVa in 1 case, and type V in 1 case. Complete resection of the cyst was performed for types I, II, and IV. In one case, an adenocarcinoma of the common bile duct cyst was discovered upon examination of the surgical specimen. Drug treatment was prescribed for type V. Results: All our patients were symptomatic. The isolated or combined clinical signs leading to the discovery of the lesion were abdominal pain in all patients, jaundice and fever in 75% (9 cases) and 41.7% (5 cases), respectively. Postoperative complications were marked by episodes of acute cholangitis, which were more or less successfully controlled by percutaneous drainage combined with antibiotic therapy. Conclusion: The treatment of congenital cystic dilatations of the bile ducts must follow a strategy adapted to each type of malformation. Cystoenteric anastomosis is contraindicated, and resection should be as complete as possible. VL - 14 IS - 5 ER -
Department of Visceral and Digestive Surgery, University Mouloud Mammeri of Tizi-Ouzou, Tizi Ouzou, Algeria
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