A Case Report of Bile Duct Duplication Arising from the Hepatic Hilum

Anatomic variation in the hepatobiliary tract is relatively common, although bile duct duplication is rare. Detection of biliary tract variation is important because it is closely related to complications such as cholangitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, stone formation, and gastrointestinal tract malignancy. Therefore, preoperative imaging and a high index of suspicion are required to make an accurate diagnosis of a biliary tract anomaly. A 44-year-old woman presented with a 2-year history of epigastric pain after eating a meal and gallbladder sludge with chronic cholecystitis. The presumed diagnosis was gallbladder duplication. However, during surgery it was observed that the tubular structure was parallel with the fissure for the ligamentum venosum and ended at the lesser curvature of the stomach. The pathologic diagnosis was bile duct duplication. We report a case of a unique variant of bile duct duplication arising from the hepatic hilum. (Korean J Med 2012;82:465-469)