OBJECTIVE The variations in the anatomy of the biliary tract need to be recognized in modern liver surgery. The purpose of this clinical and anatomical study is to describe several novel biliary tract variations and to outline their practical importance for liver resections and transplantations. MATERIALS AND METHODS Over the previous 10 years, the anatomic variations of the bile ducts were e...

Two cases of pure congenital dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts are presented. One patient developed amyloidosis secondary to suppuration, and had isolated cysts in the renal medulla. The position of congenital dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts compared with cysts in the liver and its association with ;cystic' diseases of the kidneys is discussed.

Biliary complications often lead to acute and chronic liver injury after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Bile composition and secretion depend on the integrated action of all the components of the biliary tree, starting from hepatocytes. Fatty livers are often discarded as grafts for OLT, since they are extremely vulnerable to conventional cold storage (CS). However, the insufficiency o...

A 66-year-old caucasian woman was admitted with a 40-day history of fatigue, anorexia, jaundice, itching and pale stools. She had undergone external percutaneous transhepatic drainage and had been treated for cholangitis with antibiotics. The patient had no palpable masses and her past medical history was unremarkable. Total bilirubin and liver enzymes were mildly elevated, and CBC was normal. ...