Choi et al. et al. stated that in 2% of the cases they encountered, the RPSD drained into the cystic duct (2, 3), and in a review of the literature, Hamlin reported that in his experience, an anomalous right hepatic duct emptying into the common hepatic or cystic duct was the most common biliary anom- aly (13). Reid et al. (14) reported that three of 267 cholan- giograms depicted an anomalous right hepatic duct which emptied into the cystic duct. It is crucial that in laparoscop- ic cholecystectomy, this variation is recognized: ligation or resection of an aberrant duct will lead to complications such as biloma, biliary cirrhosis, or bile leakage (4). When cholecystectomy is performed in patients with this varia- tion, the cystic duct must be ligated between the gallblad- der and the point at which the duct joins the anomalous RHD. In this study, there is some degree of selection bias. This was because LDLT donors were chosen only from among those without complicated vascular variation and with suf- ficient hepatic volume for lobectomy or segmentectomy. In patients with complicated vascular variation, the possibility of accompanying bile duct variation is high, and the actual percentage of bile duct variation might thus be underesti- mated. In summary, atypical branching patterns of IHDs were found in 37% of donors. The two most common variations were RPSD, draining directly into the LHD (11%), and tri- furcation of the RASD, RPSD and LHD (10%). In hepatic surgery, a preoperative understanding of bile duct varia- tion will help avoid possible complications and help achieve the most effective relief of CHD obstruction. References 1. Clemett AR. Operative and postoperative cholangiography. In: Berk BN, Clemett AR, eds. Radiology of the gallbladder and bile ducts, 1st ed. Philadelphia: Saunders, 1977;272-284 2. Huang TL, Cheng YF, Chen CL, Chen TY, Lee TY. Variants of the bile ducts: clinical application in the potential donor of liv- ing-related hepatic transplantation. Transplant Proc 1996; 28:1669-1670 3. Cheng YF, Huang TL, Chen CL, Chen YS, Lee TY. Variants of the intrahepatic bile ducts: application in living-related liver transplantation and splitting liver transplantation. Clin Transplant 1997;11:337-340 4. Mortele KJ, Ros PR. Anatomic variants of the biliary tree: MR cholangiographic findings and clinical applications. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2001;177:389-394 5. Nery JR, Fragulidis GP, Scagnelli T, et al. Donor biliary varia- tion: an overlooked problem? Clin Transplant 1997;11:582-587 6. Gulliver DJ, Cotton PB, Baillie J. Anatomic variants and arti- facts in ERCP interpretation. AJR Am J Roentgenol 1991; 156:975-980 7. Gazelle GS, Lee MJ, Mueller PR. Cholangiographic segmental anatomy of the liver. RadioGraphics 1994;14:1005-1013 8. Puente SG, Bannura GC. Radiological anatomy of the biliary tract: variation and congenital abnormalities. World J Surg 1983;7:271-276 9. Kim MH, Sekijima J, Lee SF. Primary intrahepatic stones. Am J Gastroenterol 1995;90:540-548 10. Kim HJ, Kim MH, Lee SK, et al. Normal structure, variations and anomalies of the pancreaticobiliary ducts of Koreans: a na- tionwide cooperative prospective study. Gastrointest Endos 2002;55:889-896 11. Turner MA, Fulcher AS. The cystic duct: normal anatomy and disease processes. RadioGraphics 2001;21:3-22 12. Champetier J, Letoublon C, Alnaasan I, Charvin B. The cystico- hepatic ducts: surgical implications. Surg Radiol Anat 1991; 13:203-211 13. Hamlin JA. Biliary ductal anomalies. In: Berci G, Hamlin JA, eds. Operative biliary radiology, 1st ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1981;110-116 14. Reid SH, Cho SR, Shaw CI, Turner MA. Anomalous hepatic duct inserting into the cystic duct. AJR Am J Roentgenol 1986; 147:1181-1182 15. Park CH, Cho HJ, Kwack EY, Choi CS, Kang IW, Yoon JS. Intrahepatic biliary duct anatomy and its variations. J Korean Radiol Soc 1991;27:827-831 90 Korean J Radiol 4(2), June 2003