1. Anatomic variations of intrahepatic bile ducts in a European series and meta-analysis of the literature.
- Author
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Cucchetti, Alessandro, Peri, Eugenia, Cescon, Matteo, Zanello, Matteo, Ercolani, Giorgio, Zanfi, Chiara, Bertuzzo, Valentina, Di Gioia, Paolo, Pinna, Antonio, and Pinna, Antonio Daniele
- Subjects
INTRAHEPATIC bile ducts ,BIOLOGICAL variation ,META-analysis ,LIVER transplantation ,CASE studies ,ANATOMY ,BILE duct abnormalities ,BILE ducts ,COMPARATIVE studies ,RESEARCH methodology ,MEDICAL cooperation ,RESEARCH ,EVALUATION research - Abstract
Background: Accurate knowledge of biliary anatomy and its variants is essential to ensure successful hepatic surgery; however, data from European countries are lacking.Methods: Two hundred cholangiograms obtained from patients submitted to whole liver transplantation were reviewed; donors' characteristics were related to the prevalence of typical biliary anatomy and its variants. A comprehensive literature search was performed with MEDLINE and EMBASE from 1980 to 2010 to investigate whether geographical origin could be related to biliary abnormalities.Results: Typical biliary anatomy was observed in 64.5% of cases, but female donors more frequently presented an anatomic variation; typical anatomy was present in 55.0% of females and in 74.0% of males (P = 0.005). Twenty-two reports were identified by the literature search with a total of 7,559 cases, including the present series; heterogeneity was low (Q = 14.60; I2 < 5.0%) after exclusion of three outlier reports. Prevalence of typical biliary anatomy was similar in Europeans and Americans (∼60%); a slightly higher prevalence was observed in Asiatics (∼65%).Conclusions: Anatomic variants seem to be more frequent in females, probably as a consequence of different embryologic development. Available data suggest that typical biliary anatomy can be more frequent in Asiatics, but an accurate means of classification is essential to making comparison realistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2011
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