Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Large/Giant Gallstones: Case Report and Brief Review of Literature.

Abstract

Background Gallstones disease (GSD) is the most common biliary pathology. GSD is one of the common surgical problems in which lead people admit to the hospital in Nepal. Its prevalence is found to be 4.87%. The size of a gallstone is important, as giant/large gallstones have a higher risk of complications and present technical difficulties during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Open cholecystectomy is preferred in most cases with giant gallstones. With the availability of experienced laparoscopic surgeons and modern laparoscopic equipment LC is also feasible in large/giant gallstones. In this case report, we report 2 cases of one large and one giant gallstone each which were successfully done laparoscopically.Case Presentation Case 1 A 51 years old female presented with 5 months history of intermittent right upper quadrant colicky pain related to fatty food with no significant past medical and surgical history.Ultrasound abdomen showed normal gallbladder with multiple gallstones, largest measuring approximately 4cms. She was planned for elective LC. The gallbladder was removed out after extension of the infra-umbilical incision. On the cut section, we found multiple gallstones with one large gallstone measuring 4*3.3*3 cm and weighted 23.2 gm. Her post-operative period was uneventful. Case 2 A 39 years old female, known case of hypertension under calcium channel blocker(CCB) and angiotensin receptor blocker(ARBs) presented with 5 months history of intermittent right upper quadrant colicky pain related to fatty foods with non-significant surgical history. Ultrasound abdomen showed a normal gallbladder with a single large gallstone (approximately 4.7 cm). Elective LC was performed and the gallbladder was removed out after extension of infraumbilical incision. On the cut section, we found a single giant gallstone measuring 5* 3*2.8 cm and weighted 24.7 gm. Her post-operative period was uneventful.Conclusion Large/giant gallstones are associated with a high risk of complications and cholecystectomy is warranted in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Even for large/giant gallstones, LC appears to be the treatment of choice over open cholecystectomy and should be performed by an experienced laparoscopic surgeon, taking into consideration the possibility of conversion to open in case of inability to expose the anatomy and any intraoperative technical difficulties.