A recurrent case of an early gallbladder carcinoma after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

A 71-year-old woman diagnosed with gallstones and chronic cholecystitis was admitted to our hospital in October 1997, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed. After the operation, early gallbladder carcinoma, which had superficially spread to the whole gallbladder restricted to mucosa (pT1a) by histology, was identified. Six weeks later, liver bed resection, bile duct dissection and regional lymph node dissection were performed. Histological examination revealed that cancer cells had been microscopically disseminated to the hepatoduodenal ligament and invaded into the lymphatic vessels. The postoperative course was uneventful. She died of peritoneal recurrence of her gallbladder cancer 14 months after the second operation.