Successful chemical cholecystectomy: a laparoscopic guided technique.

A laparoscopic guided technique of percutaneous chemical destruction of the gall bladder is described. The procedure entails the creation of a percutaneous access cholecystostomy for stone removal/fragmentation. After endoscopic occlusion of the cystic duct, the alkali corrosive, sodium carbonate was instilled into the gall bladder for 10-15 minutes. The treatment was applied in 11 animals with three deaths because of technical mishaps and eight survivors, in five of which a histologically confirmed complete destruction of the gall bladder (chemical cholecystectomy) was achieved without damage to the rest of the biliary tract or liver parenchyma.