Trerotola S O, Lillemoe K D, Malloy P C, Osterman F A
Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md.
Radiology. 1993 Aug;188(2):419-21. doi: 10.1148/radiology.188.2.8327688.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is becoming increasingly popular in the treatment of symptomatic gallstones, offering improved patient satisfaction and decreased hospital stays. The authors describe a patient in whom infected bile and gallstones were spilled or "dropped" during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Most of the gallstones ranged from 5 to 8 mm in diameter; one gallstone was 11 x 17 mm. An abscess formed around the stones, and percutaneous stone removal was performed 1 week after abscess drainage. The size of the retained gallstones is important. Stones smaller than 1 cm in diameter can usually be removed via a 30-F sheath by conventional means, whereas stones larger than 1 cm in diameter require fragmentation before removal.
