The fate of long-standing intraperitoneal gallstone in the rat.

Gallstones are occasionally spilled into the peritoneal cavity during open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Using the rat model, we investigated the long term effect of such retained intraperitoneal gallstones. During a follow-up period of one year, no systemic deleterious outcome could be attributed to the presence of the implanted gallstones except for mild local effects. Based on the rat model we conclude that reasonable effort should be made in order to retrieve an escaped gallstone, but there is no justification whatsoever for a conversion of the laparoscopic procedure to an open laparotomy only for the purpose of retrieving a lost stone.