Should laparoscopic cholecystectomy be performed in patients with thick-walled gallbladder?
GROUND/PURPOSE: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the procedure of choice for patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis. This procedure is contraindicated in patients with gall-bladder cancer (GBC) because of fear of dissemination of the disease. One of the findings raising the suspicion of GBC is a thick-walled gallbladder (TWGB). METHODS: A prospective study of patients with TWGB was done over a period of 10 months at a tertiary-level referral hospital in northern India. We studied the clinical profiles, investigations (ultrasound [US] and computerized tomography [CT]) and management plans in these patients. RESULTS: A total of 60 patients were included in the study. After cholecystectomy, histopathology of gallbladders showed GBC in 2 (3.3%) patients. The remaining 58 patients had chronic cholecystitis, of whom 28 (48%) had xanthogranulomatous variant chronic cholecystitis. Cholecystectomy by the laparoscopic method was attempted in 46 (77%) patients and by open technique in the remain