Traumatic avulsion of the intrapancreatic common bile duct: case report

Injuries of the extra hepatic biliary tree following blunt trauma to the abdomen are rare. We present a case of avulsion of the intrapancreatic common bile duct. Very often the lesion is not identifiable until the signs of jaundice and biliary ascites occur. Intraoperative cholangiography is mandatory for the diagnosis, but the noninvasive magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography could readily depict the injury of the extrahepatic bile duct preoperatively. When the diagnosis is late the corner stone of treatment is biliary diversion and definitive repair after complete resolution of sepsis with a choledochojejunostomy.