Incidental gall bladder carcinoma after cholecystectomy for benign disease: An institutional experience

Cholecystectomy is the most common routinely performed procedure for benign gallbladder disease worldwide and incidental gall bladder cancer is mostly detected in post-cholecystectomy specimens.

This retrospective study emphasizes on the need for routine surveillance of post-cholecystectomy specimens by evaluating the incidence of incidental findings of carcinoma in cholecystectomy specimens done for benign gallbladder disease.

A total of 2443 patients were evaluated over a period of 7 years, out of which, 18 patients were diagnosed with incidental gall bladder carcinoma with an incidence of 0.73 %. The mean age of affected patients was 59 years. Among the 18 patients, 8 patients (44 %) had an intra-operative suspicion of malignancy. Once incidental cancer is detected the treatment decision should be decided according to tumor spread and depth as well as the patient's age, additional health problems, and life expectancy.