Gallbladder cancer as unexpected finding at cholecystectomy for benign disease.

In 1,000 cholecystectomies for symptomatic presumed benign disease, 23 gallbladder cancers were unexpectedly found. Only six of these 23 patients seemed to benefit from the surgical intervention. In view of the mortality of 0.8% of all cholecystectomies performed, it can be concluded that cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallstones is inadequate to prevent mortality from unexpected gallbladder cancer. To improve the overall prognosis of gallbladder cancer, it is therefore suggested to perform prophylactic cholecystectomy for silent gallstones.