A large animal model (swine) to study the diagnosis and treatment of cholelithiasis

Human gallstones were surgically placed into the gallbladders of 200 swine. Eight of these swine were used as a prospective series to verify that the placement and presence of human gallstones in their gallbladders caused no significant pathologic changes in the gallbladder and that the gallstones were not spontaneously dissolved. Although limitations exist, the advantages of this procedure demonstrate that the surgically prepared swine is an appropriate model for controlled in vivo experiments in radiologic imaging or interventional treatment. A 4 F pig-tailed catheter designed for Trocar insertion was developed as a companion to this model.