title: Abdominal abscess from gallstones spilled at laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Case report and review of the literature.
abstract: One case is reported and 14 others are culled from the literature. Each patient experienced an intraperitoneal abscess with a gallstone nidus following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Each required open surgical drainage weeks or months after the initial laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The natural biology of spilled intraperitoneal gallstones is not known. Two short-term animal studies suggest initial partial lysis and fibrotic encapsulation. At least 15% of completed laparoscopic cholecystectomies leave intraperitoneal gallstones. Almost all prove to be clinically innocuous but the rare instances of later intraabdominal abscess formation deserve recognition and reporting.
authors.affiliation: VA Medical Center, Bay Pines, FL 33504, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shocket
mesh_terms: D018784:Abdominal Abscess / Q000209:etiology*; D000368:Aged; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008297:Male