Symptomatic cholecystolithiasis after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

A 45-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of upper abdominal pain. Seven months earlier a laparoscopic cholecystectomy had been carried out and a solitary gallstone removed together with the gallbladder. The patient now suffered from pain of the same character but lower intensity compared to the situation before the operation. At admission there were no abnormal laboratory findings, especially no signs of infection or cholestasis. Ultrasound revealed a stone in a gallbladder-like structure in the right epigastric region. ERCP revealed an inconspicuous cystic duct stump and no pathological findings in the extra- and intrahepatic bile ducts. MRCP and CT showed a cyst-like structure in the gallbladder region containing a concrement. The patient was transferred to the Department of Surgery for exploratory laparotomy, and a residual gallbladder with an infundibular gallstone was removed. The recurrent upper abdominal pain was obviously caused by a gallstone redeveloped after incomplete laparoscopic gallbladder resection. Retrospectively it could not be discerned whether a doubled or a septated gallbladder was the reason for the initial incomplete resection.