Background: Although carcinoma of the gallbladder frequently spreads lymphatically, few reports exist about the evaluation of routes of lymphatic drainage of the gallbladder by vital staining. The purpose of this study was to visualize drainage routes and the extent of lymphatic flow from the gallbladder by using vital staining with a carbon particle suspension (CH40).
Study design: In 20 patients, 0.3 to 0.5 mL of carbon particle suspension was injected into first station nodes for the gallbladder, the cystic node or pericholedochal node, intraoperatively. After a Kocher maneuver was performed, lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels blackened by the stain were visualized macroscopically.
Results: Lymphatic pathways from the gallbladder were classified into three routes: right, left, and hilar. The right route, which ran along the common bile duct to the superior retropancreaticoduodenal node or the retroportal node and reached the para-aortic nodes, was stained in 95 percent of patients. The left route, which traveled toward lymph nodes medial to the hepatoduodenal ligament through the posterior aspect of the head of the pancreas, was stained in less than 50 percent of patients. Among lymph nodes along the left route, the posterior common hepatic node was most frequently stained (45 percent). The hilar route, which ascended toward the hepatic hilus, was stained in 20 percent of patients.
Conclusions: These data demonstrate that the right route is a main pathway of lymphatic drainage from the gallbladder, while the left and hilar routes are branch lines. The para-aortic nodes, regarded as final regional nodes for the gallbladder, should be removed during radical surgery for advanced carcinoma of the gallbladder. Drainage along the hilar route may cause metastasis to the liver.