Aggressive surgical resection for carcinoma of gallbladder.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study was to review the long-term result of patients with carcinoma of gallbladder with adequate investigations and aggressive surgical resection.


METHODS
A retrospective study was carried out on patients with carcinoma of gallbladder treated at the Division of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong from January 1997 to December 2002.


RESULTS
Of the 47 patients with carcinoma of gallbladder, 28 patients were treated symptomatically because they were found to have metastatic disease (n = 22), unresectable disease (n = 2) or poor associated medical disease (n = 4). One patient had carcinoma in-situ after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. No further treatment was considered necessary. The remaining 18 patients (38.3%) came to laparotomy after preoperative investigations with ultrasonography, computed tomography, endoscopic or percutaneous cholangiography, and visceral angiography. Laparoscopy and laparoscopic ultrasound were used in the later part of the study. Radical cholecystectomy was carried out in 14 patients (77.8%). The in-hospital mortality rate was 5.3% and the surgical morbidity was 31.6%. The remaining four patients underwent palliative cholecystectomy because of the extent of the disease. The overall 5-year survival for the 47 patients was 19.1%, for the 18 patients who came to laparotomy was 44.4%, and for the 14 patients who underwent resection with curative intent was 57.1%.


CONCLUSIONS
With adequate preoperative investigations, and the use of laparoscopy and laparoscopic ultrasound, radical resection was possible in the majority of patients who came to laparotomy for carcinoma of gallbladder. Aggressive radical resection gave good results.
Lai
Eric C H
EC
Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Lau
Wan Yee
WY
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001662:Biliary Tract Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D002763:Cholecystectomy / Q000379:methods; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic; D005260:Female; D005706:Gallbladder Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography