title: Cholecystectomy in a heifer.
abstract: A 10-month-old female Japanese black heifer presenting with sudden loss of appetite was diagnosed with extreme extension of the gallbladder. Laparotomy reaching from the right part of the 10th rib to the right flank showed an extended gallbladder greater than 50 cm in diameter. Cholecystectomy was performed as follows: 1) complete removal of the gallbladder distally from the base; 2) flushing via a catheter inserted into the common bile duct; and 3) covering of the hole opened in the common bile duct with a double-suturing method using the mucous membrane and muscular layers of the remaining gallbladder structures. Serum levels of total bilirubin gradually decreased from 7.5 mg/dl preoperatively to 4.7 mg/dl, 1.6 mg/dl and 0.6 mg/dl at 3, 8 and 34 days postoperatively, respectively. The heifer showed 1 month of clinical improvements, grew normally and finally became pregnant. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first clinical report to describe cholecystectomy in cattle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-Minami, Tottori 680-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuka
authors.forename: Hinako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.forename: Takehito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murahata
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Azuma
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osaki
authors.forename: Norihiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imagawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D002763:Cholecystectomy / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D005705:Gallbladder Diseases / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*