Laparoscopic management of intra-hepatic gallbladder perforation

Abstract

Intra-hepatic perforation of the gallbladder (GB) leading to hepatic abscess is a serious and rare complication of cholecystitis, with very few sporadically reported cases in the literature. Hence, there is no standard approach to treat it. A thorough radiological evaluation with computed tomography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is necessary before proceeding with surgery in such cases. An early laparoscopic intervention to perform a sub-total cholecystectomy with drain placement is enough to treat both cholecystitis and liver abscess in a definitive manner. While previous reports have advocated an open surgery, our series demonstrates that early laparoscopic management is a safe and suitable approach in such cases.

Keywords

• cholecystitis
• cholecystohepatic fistula
• endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
• gallbladder perforation
• laparoscopic cholecystectomy