Hilar bile duct resection for bile duct carcinoma at the hilus of the liver

Hilar bile duct resection, by which only the bile duct is resected, was carried out in 31 patients with bile duct carcinoma at the hepatic hilus. However, curative resection was possible in only 4 patients (12.9%). The postoperative 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 58.1%, 19.4%, and 7.7%, respectively. These results indicate that treatment of this hilar bile duct carcinoma by hilar bile duct resection is of limited value. We believe that this operative procedure should be used only for papillary or nodular carcinoma at the hepatic confluence at relatively early stages of Bismuth's type I or II.