PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the safety and conversion rate of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) after percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) in patients with a complicated acute cholecystitis (GB empyema, gangrenous cholecystitis and pericholecystic abscess) according to the timing of LC. METHODS: One hundred and four patients, who underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy after PTGBD between March 2004 and December 2006, were analyzed. Thirty-four patients underwent LC within 7 days after PTGBD (early group, n=34) and 38 patients underwent LC between 14 and 39 days after PTGBD (delayed group, n=38). Thirty-two patients were excluded because of gallbladder cancer (n=2), simple acute cholecystitis (n=12), a history of previous abdominal surgery (n=5), and LC between 8 and 13 days after PTGBD (n=13). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in age (early group, 58.4+/-11.2; delayed group, 61.0+/-12.1), diagnosis, duration of symptoms, WBC counts, interval of admission and PTGBD, improvement of symptoms after PTGBD, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, prior medical history, post-PTGBD and postoperative complications, and operation time. The rate of conversion to an open laparotomy was 14.7% (5/34) in the early group and 2.6% (1/38) in the delayed group (statistically not significant). CONCLUSION: The timing of LC after PTGBD for a complicated acute cholecystitis does not influence the rate of conversion to an open laparotomy, surgery time and complication. However, a delayed LC after PTGBD tends to decrease the rate of conversion to an open laparotomy.
Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic* ; Cholecystitis ; Cholecystitis, Acute* ; Diagnosis ; Drainage* ; Empyema ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; Gallbladder* ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Postoperative Complications

Acalculous Cholecystitis ; microbiology ; Adult ; Cholecystitis, Acute ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Leptospirosis ; complications ; diagnosis ; Male ; Pancreatitis ; etiology ; microbiology

A biloma is an encapsulated bile collection outside the biliary tree. Most cases of biloma are caused by iatrogenic injury or trauma. Intrahepatic rupture of the biliary tree due to nontraumatic cause is a rare event. A 68- year-old man was admitted because of abdominal pain and fever. He had no past history of abdominal surgery, instrumentation or trauma. Computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) demonstrated a large subcapsular fluid collection in the right liver associated with choledocholithiasis and cholecystitis. Biloma was confirmed by sono-guided percutaneous needle aspiration and was drained through a pigtail catheter. After the successful treatment by percutaneous drainage and endoscopic sphincterotomy, the patient recovered. Here, we report an uncommon case of spontaneous biloma formation in association with choledocholithiasis with a review of literatures.
Aged ; *Bile ; Cholecystitis/*complications/diagnosis ; Choledocholithiasis/*complications/diagnosis ; English Abstract ; Humans ; Male

Child ; Cholecystitis, Acute ; complications ; diagnosis ; Comorbidity ; Hepatolenticular Degeneration ; complications ; diagnosis ; Humans

No abstract available.
Aged, 80 and over ; Cholecystitis/*complications/diagnosis ; Hemobilia/diagnosis/*etiology ; Humans ; Jaundice, Obstructive/etiology ; Male

Acalculous cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder in the absence of gallstones. Diagnosing this condition is often difficult because of the patient's debilitated medical condition and because of the limitation of biliary imaging technique. Nonetheless, its recognition and therapy are critically important, for if left untreated, many patients will die. During 10 years and 6 months from January 1986 to June 1996, 52 patients underwent assessment and treatment for acalculous cholecystitis at the Department of Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital. A clinical analysis of those patients was done and the following results were obtained: The incidence rate was 3.5%. The most prevalent age group was the seventh decade (13cases), and the male-to-female ratio was 1.4 : 1. Possible etiologic factors were found in 25 cases (48.1%). These factors were surgery in 5 cases (9.6%), trauma in 5 cases (9.6%), sepsis in 5 cases (9.6%), clonorchiasis in 5 cases (9.6%), and others in 5 cases(9.6%). Neither Ascariasis nor Salmonellosis was found as a predisposing factor in this study.The main cardinal symptoms and physical signs were similar to those of calculous cholecystitis. The sensitivities of diagnostic imaging by ultrasonography and computed tomography were 88.4% and 100%, respectively. Of the 52 patients, 46 cases underwent cholecystectomy, and 6 cases were initially treated by percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy. Of these 6 cases, two patients had cholecystostomies during subsequent abdominal operations for other conditions. Two patients had the cholecystostomy tube removed 2 months after an uneventful recovery and have had no further biliary problems. The other two patients died. The operative findings were cholecystitis only in 26 cases (56.5%), cholecystitis with localized peritonitis in 18 cases (39.1%), and cholecystitis with generalized peritonitis in 2 cases (4.3%). Postoperative complications occurred in 16 cases (34.8%), and wound infection was the most common complication (62.5% of all complications).The overall mortality was 9.6%. Conclusively, acalculous cholecystitis had high morbidity and mortality in this study. Once the diagnosis of acalculous cholecystitis is made, the gallbladder should be drained or removed. A decision as to the best approach depends on the specific situation and will require close cooperation between the internist, the surgeon, and the radiologist.
Acalculous Cholecystitis* ; Ascariasis ; Causality ; Cholecystectomy ; Cholecystitis ; Cholecystostomy ; Clonorchiasis ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Gallbladder ; Gallstones ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Mortality ; Peritonitis ; Postoperative Complications ; Salmonella Infections ; Sepsis ; Ultrasonography ; Wound Infection

Both systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren's syndrome are autoimmune diseases. Almost all organs can be involved but the gall bladder is an unusual site. We report a 39-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren's syndrome presenting with acute acalculous cholecystitis. It is a very rare complication and, in the literature review, surgical interventions are mostly applied for treatment. In our case, high dose corticosteroid was tried and clinical manifestations and radiologic findings were improved.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; Case Report ; Cholecystitis/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Female ; Human ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/*complications/diagnosis ; Methylprednisolone/therapeutic use ; Sjogren's Syndrome/*complications/diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Portal vein thrombosis is a rare complication accompanied with acute pancreatitis or cholangitis/cholecystitis. The main pathogenesis of portal vein thrombosis in pancreatitis or cholangitis/cholecystitis are suggested to be venous compression by pseudocyst and an imbalance between the blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. In this case report, we experienced a 63 year old male who developed portal vein thrombosis later in the course of the treatment of acute gallstone pancreatitis with cholangitis/cholecystitis without any symptom or sign. The diagnosis of portal vein thrombosis was given on follow up CT scan and serum protein S activity was decreased to 27% in laboratory study. Immediate anticoagulation therapy with heparin and thrombolytic therapy with urokinase and balloon dilatation were performed. Despite the aggressive treatment, complete reperfusion could not be obtained. With oral warfarin anticoagulation, the patient showed no disease progression and was discharged. We report a case of portal vein thrombosis as a complication of acute pancreatitis and cholangitis/cholecystitis with a review of literatures.
Acute Disease ; Cholangitis/*complications/diagnosis ; Cholecystitis/complications ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatitis/*complications/diagnosis ; *Portal Vein ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Venous Thrombosis/diagnosis/*etiology

BACKGROUND: The laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become the treatment of choice for the majority of patients with cholecystopathy. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy by reviewing of the case histories of three hundred ten consecutive patients treated with a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the initial 310 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed at the Department of General Surgery, Sun General Hospital, from May 1993 to December 1998. Sex, age, associated diseases, previous history of abdominal operation, duration of operation, reason for conversion to open cholecystectomy, hospital stay, and postoperative complications were analyzed. RESULTS: The postoperative diagnosis was chronic cholecystitis in 213 patients, acute cholecystitis in 53 patients, cholesterolosis in 17 patients, gallbladder (GB) empyema in 13 patients, acalculous cholecystitis in 9 patients, and gallbladder carcinomas in 3 patients. The common associated diseases were diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The mean durations of operation, diet, and hospital stay were 77.6 minutes. 1.2 days, and 5 days, respectively. The mean numbers of drainages and injected analgesics were 0.8 and 1.6, respectively. Conversion to an open cholecystectomy was necessary in 8 of the 310 patients (2.6%) who underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy either because of severe adhesion (n=6), difficulty with anatomic identification in Calot's triangle (n=1), or severe GB empyema (n=1). The overall postoperative complication rate was 2.6% (8/310). A laparotomy was not required for the treatment of bleeding (5 cases) and residual stones (2 cases). There was no bile duct injury. One patient who had a cerebral infarction died of a cerebrovascular accident. CONCLUSION: We conclude that for benign cholecystopathy the laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be safe and feasible treatment with low morbidity.
Acalculous Cholecystitis ; Analgesics ; Bile Ducts ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cholecystectomy ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic* ; Cholecystitis ; Cholecystitis, Acute ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Diet ; Empyema ; Gallbladder ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Laparotomy ; Length of Stay ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Solar System ; Stroke

Acute cholecystitis is a common cause of right upper quadrant pain in patients presenting at the emergency department. Early diagnosis and recognition of associated complications, though challenging, are essential for timely management. Imaging studies, including ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, are increasingly utilised for the evaluation of suspected cases of cholecystitis. These investigations help in diagnosis, identification of complications and surgical planning. Imaging features of acute cholecystitis have been described in the literature and are variable, depending on the stage of inflammation. This article discusses the spectrum of cholecystitis-associated complications and their imaging manifestations. We also suggest a checklist for the prompt and accurate identification of complications in acute cholecystitis.
Abdominal Pain ; diagnosis ; Adult ; Aged ; Cholecystitis ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; Cholecystitis, Acute ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Emergency Medicine ; methods ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography