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The biliary tract is notorious for its variable anatomy. A persistent hepaticocystic duct with agenesis of common bile duct is a rare biliary anomaly that creates a diagnostic dilemma and can add to the operative difficulties. It is important to diagnose this anomaly preoperatively since the gallbladder forms an integral part of bilioenteric continuity and an inadvertent cholecystectomy can lead to a surgical catastrophe. If diagnosed, surgeons can plan definitive treatment in the form of biliary diversion. We present a case of a 22-year-old man, who presented to us with obstructive jaundice and cholangitis. The biliary system was decompressed initially with a percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage and an endoscopic retrograde cholangiogram established the diagnosis of a type IV hepaticocystic duct preoperatively in our case. Since diagnosis was made prior to operative intervention, we were able to perform a cholecystojejunostomy to maintain biliary continuity. The patient was discharged with an uneventful postoperative course. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such a variation being diagnosed preoperatively. We are also presenting a brief review of literature about persistent hepaticocystic ducts and the embryological basis of their origin.

The ease of the anterior component separation technique (ACST) makes it an attractive surgical option for ventral hernia repairs (VHR). Incorporation of indocyanine green-fluorescence angiography (ICG-FA) to map soft tissue perfusion during open ACST is an effective way to minimize the wound complications. This study aims to evaluate the impact of adoption of ICG-FA on wound-related complications following open ACST in VHR. We performed a retrospective review of patients who underwent VHR with the open ACST at a single centre between March 2018 and July 2020. The study comprised of consecutive cases of open ACST with onlay meshplasty done before (March 2018–April 2019) and after (May 2019 to July 2020) implementation of ICG-FA for intra-operative perfusion mapping of subcutaneous tissue and skin. The pre-ICG group and post-ICG group were similar in terms of baseline patient demographics and peri-operative details. The rate of surgical site occurrence’s was higher in the pre-ICG group, but this result was not statistically significant (46% vs. 26%; p value 0.189). Skin necrosis, however, was observed in significantly less patients of the post-ICG cohort (29% vs. 5%; p value 0.045). This study demonstrates the effectiveness of perfusion mapping by the use of ICG angiography to determine potential areas of decreased perfusion and thereby minimize wound complications. Using ICG-FA to guide removal of at-risk tissue to minimize wound complications may substantially improve the patients outcome.

Incisional hernia is one of the most common surgical complications after surgery with an incidence of 10–20%. A total of 33–78% of patients with ventral and incisional hernias are symptomatic for their condition while 5 to 14% develop complications such as incarceration, obstruction, and strangulation. Minimally invasive techniques have gained preference over open techniques in view of decreased morbidity and lower recurrence rates. In this article, we describe our experience of endoscopic pre-aponeurotic repair—a minimally invasive technique for ventral and incisional hernia repair at a tertiary care centre in India. Patients presenting with primary ventral or incisional hernia with concomitant rectus abdominis diastasis were included in the study. This study was conducted between July 2016 and July 2018 and included 38 patients. These patients were operated by endoscopic pre-aponeurotic repair technique. The mean operative time was 85 min with no intra-operative complications and zero conversion rate to open surgery. Seroma and umbilical dermal ischaemia were the only complications, which were managed conservatively. The endoscopic pre-aponeurotic repair technique is a safe and effective alternative for treating patients diagnosed to have ventral hernia with rectus abdominis diastasis.

Transmesenteric hernia is a rare cause of small bowel strangulation in adults. Our patient was a 61-year-old previously healthy male, who presented with vomiting and abdominal pain with no surgical history and no trauma in the past. Computed tomography with contrast enhancement was suggestive of superior mesenteric vein (SMV) compression without any obvious cause. The emergency exploratory laparotomy revealed venous congestion of small bowel caused by a transmesenteric hernia with the herniated loop compressing the SMV. On reducing the hernia, complete reversal of the bowel congestion was noted and small bowel resection was averted. A high index of suspicion for a transmesenteric hernia in small bowel obstruction of unknown etiology and a timely surgical intervention are must for a good clinical outcome.