Skip to main content
Canadian Journal of Surgery logoLink to Canadian Journal of Surgery
. 1997 Aug;40(4):300–304.

Don’t cry over spilled stones? Complications of gallstones spilled during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: case report and literature review

Emma J Patterson 1, Alexander G Nagy 1,
PMCID: PMC3949938  PMID: 9267300

Abstract

The gallbladder is perforated and stones are spilled more frequently during laparoscopic cholecystectomy than during open cholecystectomy. Recent reports have implicated spilled gallstones as a source of infrequent but serious complications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. They can cause serious morbidity, and in most cases the patient will require open surgery for management of these complications. The authors report the case of a patient who was ill for 14 months after laparoscopic cholecystectomy when spilled stones formed a nidus for intra-abdominal abscess and colocutaneous fistula. Every effort must be made to prevent gallbladder perforation. When it does occur, all stones should be retrieved. Attempts at repairing gallbladder perforations are often unsatisfactory. A simple solution to this potential problem is to retrieve all stones immediately, place them in an intraperitoneal specimen bag, and “park” the bag on the liver. As soon as the gallbladder is dissected off the liver it should be placed in the specimen bag with the stones and removed through the umbilical port opening.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (117.0 KB).


Articles from Canadian Journal of Surgery are provided here courtesy of Canadian Medical Association

RESOURCES