Trocar site metastasis of gall bladder cancer after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Abstract

After laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for symptomatic gall-stone disease, histological examination showed primary gall bladder carcinoma in the removed specimen. One month post-operatively a 2cm large metastasis developed at the previous umbilical incision, where the gall bladder was removed. Five months after its local excision a recurrent 10 cm large tumour developed, which was confirmed by ultrasonography and CT scan. Radical excision of the tumour and subtotal omentectomy was performed. Our patient and the only other published similar case in the international literature would emphasize the use of tissue retrieval bags, which can prevent such complications by forming a barrier between the abdominal wall and the removed specimen. The authors discuss this issue as a prospective step towards avoiding this more and more frequently occurring complication in different types of rapidly developing laparoscopic operative techniques.

Key Words:

• laparoscopic cholecystectomy
• gall bladder
• carcinoma
• metastases