Metastasis to the skin at the drain site after complete resection of the lower bile duct cancer: report of a case

There are extremely few reports of metastases from a lower cholangiocarcinoma to the skin except for metastatic seeding in a percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage catheter tract. This report presents a rare case of metastases to the skin after the removal of a drain following curative pancreaticoduodenectomy for lower bile duct cancer (LBDC). A 73-year-old female had undergone subtotal stomach-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. Skin metastasis was noted at the site where the drain from the lower border at pancreaticojejunostomy had been removed 22 weeks postoperatively, and it was en bloc resected with the abdominal wall without exposing the carcinoma. Multiple nodules were confirmed in the axilla and chest wall 40 weeks after the initial operation. Careful discussion is necessary to avoid this mode of metastasis. The surgical field should not be exposed to pancreatic juice, even with LBDC. Nevertheless, this case is rare. Therefore, the risks and benefits of using such drains must be considered.