• Charles de Mestral, Tarek Razek, Kosar Khwaja, and Paola Fata.
• Department of Surgery, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3G 1A4. paola.fata@muhc.mcgill.ca.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg S. 2008 Dec 1;34(6):595-600.

BackgroundExtrahepatic biliary tract injuries following blunt abdominal trauma are very rare and pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.Case ReportWe report a case of blunt liver injury with left extrahepatic duct transection following a motor vehicle collision. Technetium 99m dimethyliminodiacetic acid scan confirmed a bile leak and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) diagnosed the injury of the left extrahepatic duct. Management was initially conservative, consisting of external drainage along with trials of stent placement. Ultimately, partial left hepatectomy was required to definitively treat the injury.ConclusionIn the setting of suspected biliary tract injury, early ERCP is essential to localize a leak and guide management decisions. In the event of a confirmed bile leak, a trial of nonoperative management consisting of endoscopic ductal decompression along with percutaneous drainage may initially be warranted although is not always successful.

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