title: Retrobulbar metastasis from gallbladder carcinoma after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A case report.
abstract: Extra-abdominal metastases from gallbladder cancer are very rare; the sites outside the abdomen most frequently affected are the skin, bone and central nervous system. In the literature, only one case of orbital metastasis from gallbladder cancer has been reported, in a patient previously treated by open cholecystectomy. We report the case of a 53-year-old woman who underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallbladder stones. Postoperative histological examination revealed an unsuspected gallbladder adenocarcinoma. One month later she came to our observation after having developed diplopia and ophthalmic pain due to an orbital metastasis. We decided not to perform a surgical second look because of the already rapid dissemination of the malignant tumor. The few cases of uncommon gallbladder cancer metastases after laparoscopic cholecystectomy described in the literature are discussed, as well as the possible role of laparoscopy in the dissemination and localized seeding of malignant cells.
authors.affiliation: Unit of General Surgery and Liver Transplantation, University of Bari, Italy. g.bros@tiscali.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Puglisi
authors.forename: Palma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Capuano
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gentile
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lobascio
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martines
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lograno
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Memeo
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic / Q000009:adverse effects; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005706:Gallbladder Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009366:Neoplasm Seeding; D009918:Orbital Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed