Surgical clip migration in the biliary tract

ABSTRACT: Surgical clip migration in the biliary tract is uncommon and the diagnosis is still challenging, which may affect the treatment of these scenarios. We report three cases of surgical clip migration in the biliary tract that occurred in our clinical practice. Three female adults were diagnosed with dilation of the common bile duct (CBD), surgical clip migration in the biliary tract and the tumour of CBD, respectively. All of them had a history of hepatobiliary surgery. All of them were diagnosed with surgical clip migration in the biliary tract before surgery and underwent surgery and the migration surgical clips were removed successfully. The cause of surgical clip migration in the bile duct, whether it is non-absorbable Hem-o-lok or absorbable clip, is the foreign body reactions leading to bile duct wrapping the surgical clips and cause their migration. It may also be caused by continuous compression between the surgical clip and the CBD.