An institutional approach to thick wall gall bladder and our experience of 5450 gallstone disease

Gallstone disease (GSD) has a high prevalence in India. GSD presentation varies from being asymptomatic to severe complications. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the procedure of choice. Histopathological varies from chronic cholecystitis to carcinoma gall bladder (CaGB). Thick wall gall bladder (TWGB) is grey zone. Various parameters of GSD especially TWGB were evaluated to develop an approach to reduce perioperative complications and histopathological surprises.

This study was conducted at the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Dr. RMLIMS, Lucknow. Data of all patients undergoing cholecystectomy between January 2015 and March 2023 were analysed retrospectively. Demographic profile, clinical presentation, blood investigations, radiological findings, operative findings and histopathology report were examined. Clinical and radiological features of difficult cholecystectomies, incidence and type of bile duct injury (BDI), presentation and outcomes of TWGB, incidence of incidental CaGB and its outcome, were evaluated and analysed.

A total of 5450 patients underwent cholecystectomy during the study period. GSD is common in females and 4 th decade. The laparoscopic to open conversion rate was 1.2%, the most common cause was unclear anatomy. The incidence of BDI in our series was 0.11% ( n = 6). The most common histopathological outcome was chronic cholecystitis followed by xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis. Incidence of incidental carcinoma gall in our series was 0.3% ( n = 16) with an overall survival of 68.75% at a mean follow-up of 19.4 months. TWGB workup includes contrast-enhanced computed tomography, intraoperative most have difficult cholecystectomy and had a higher rate of conversion, injury and incidental CaGB.

Thorough pre-operative evaluation and using the suggested algorithm may decrease perioperative complications and histopathological surprises after LC.