Clinical and paraclinical characteristics and preliminary outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for choledochal cysts

Objective: To investigate the clinical and paraclinical characteristics and evaluate the preliminary outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for choledochal cysts. Subject and method: A cross-sectional descriptive study combined with a prospective, uncontrolled interventional design was conducted on 47 patients diagnosed with choledochal cysts who underwent laparoscopic cyst excision and Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy from May 2019 to June 2024. Result: Among the 47 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for choledochal cysts, the majority were female (89.36%) with a mean age of 39 ± 14 years. The most common symptom was right upper quadrant abdominal pain (74.47%). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that 85.11% of cases had simple cysts, mostly less than 50 mm in size. Type IC cysts were the most common intraoperative finding (51.1%). The mean operative time was 198.7 ± 52.4 minutes, with 53.2% of cases lasting over 180 minutes. Postoperatively, patients resumed bowel function after an average of 2.6 days and had an average hospital stay of 10.2 days. The complication rate was low, and 93.6% of surgical wounds showed good healing. Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery for choledochal cysts demonstrated promising initial results with a low complication rate and good wound healing. This technique is safe and effective when performed with proper indications.