The long-term health-related quality of life in patients operated for choledochal cyst

PurposeLate postoperative complications in choledochal cyst (CC) patients are severe problems that affect the quality of life (QOL). We evaluated the postoperative complications and health-related QOL (HRQOL) of CC patients 18years of age.MethodsFrom April 1984 to January 2018, 114 CC patients underwent definitive surgery at our institution. Seventy-nine patients reached 18years of age. The HRQOL was assessed using the Japanese version of the SF-36v2. Eight health domain (physical functioning, role-physical, body pain, general health, role-emotional, vitality, mental health, and social functioning) scores and three component summary [physical component summary, mental component summary (MCS), and role-social component summary] scores were compared between the patients with and without complications (C [+] vs. C [-]).ResultsThirty-five patients answered the questionnaires. Twelve patients had postoperative complications. Among the eight domains, the score of general health was significantly lower in C [+] patients than in C [-] patients (p=0.0488). Among the three component scores, the MCS score in C [+] patients was lower than in C [-] patients without significance (p=0.0953).ConclusionsThe HRQOL of CC patients 18years of age was mostly acceptable. However, postoperative complications can impair the sense of well-being and affect the mental health.