A CASE OF BRONCHO-SUBPHRENIC FISTULA AFTER HEPATIC RESECTION

Abstract

A 62-year-old man who underwent medical treatment for cirrhosis of the liver was diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma in the right anterosuperior subsegment of the liver. Right anterosuperior subsegmen-tectomy of the liver was performed. Bile leaked from the stump of an intrahepatic bile duct, but satisfactory drainage could be achieved and the leakage healed. About six months later, the patient coughed up yellowish sputum, and right subphrenic abscess was found after the patient was hospitalized. The abscess was drained and a communication with the right bronchus was detected. The fistula closed after two months drainage and the patient was discharged.
Bronchial fistulas are a rare complication in patients who undergo hepatic resection.