Abdominal wall sinus due to impacting gallstone during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: an unusual complication

During laparoscopic cholecystectomy, perforation of the gallbladder can occurs in < or = 20% of cases, while gallstone spillage occurs in < or = 6% of cases. In most cases, there are no consequences. Gallstones can be lost in the abdominal wall as well as the abdomen during extraction of the gallbladder. The fate of such lost gallstones, which can lead to the formation of an abscess, an abdominal wall mass, or a persistent sinus, has not been studied adequately. Herein we report the case of a persistent sinus of the abdominal wall after an emergent laparoscopic cholecystectomy in an 82-year-old woman with gangrenous cholecystitis and perforation of the friable wall in association with an empyema of the gallbladder. The culture of the obtained pus was positive for Escherichia coli. After a small leak of dirty fluid from the wound of the epigastric port site of 4 months' duration, surgical exploration under local anesthesia revealed that the sinus was caused by spilled gallstones impacting into the abdominal wall between the posterior sheath and left rectus abdominalis muscle. The removal of the stones resulted in complete healing. Long-term complications after laparoscopic cholecystectomy involving the abdominal wall are rare but important possible consequences that could be avoided.