Human gallbladder morphology after gallstone dissolution with methyl tert-butyl ether

The effects of methyl tert-butyl ether exposure on the human gallbladder in five patients who were treated for gallstones by contact dissolution is described. Two patients underwent cholecystectomy within 1 week of methyl tert-butyl ether treatment, one patient 2 weeks after, another 10 weeks after, and one 12 weeks after. Indications for cholecystectomy were bilirubinate stones (resistant to methyl tert-butyl ether), catheter dislodgement, bile leakage, and gallstone recurrence (2 patients). Gallstones were dissolved completely in three patients, there was approximately 50% stone reduction in one patient, and no dissolution occurred in the fifth patient. Each gallbladder was examined grossly and histologically. Electron microscopic evaluation was performed in one cases. Typical inflammatory findings of chronic cholecystitis were observed in each gallbladder and were most conspicuous in the submucosa; the mucosal and serosal surfaces were intact. Mild acute inflammatory changes were noted in the submucosa in the two patients with the shortest interval between methyl tert-butyl ether administration and cholecystectomy. There were no ulcerations in the mucosa and no unusual wall thickening or fibrosis in any patient. These observations support the safety of methyl tert-butyl ether perfusion in the human gallbladder; the mild acute changes may be a transient and reversible phenomenon.