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Case report
Retained gallstones: an elusive complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy
  1. JooYeon Jung1,
  2. Zahir Basrai2,3,
  3. Manuel Celedon2,3 and
  4. Andrew Grock2,3
  1. 1David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
  2. 2Emergency Medicine, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California, USA
  3. 3Emergency Medicine, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Andrew Grock; andygrock{at}gmail.com

Abstract

A young, healthy woman presented to the emergency department multiple times with right upper quadrant pain and subjective fevers for over a year after her laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The patient required multiple hospital visits and extensive work-ups before finally being diagnosed with retained gallstones in her abdomen. After surgical removal of the stones, her symptoms resolved completely. The case highlights the challenges in diagnosing retained gallstones, the substantial burdens they can impose on patients, and the importance of prevention and thorough documentation.

  • emergency medicine
  • general surgery
  • pancreas and biliary tract
  • radiology

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-238456

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors JJ: planning, conduct, reporting, drafting and revision, acquisition of data and interpretation of data. ZB: planning, conduct, reporting, drafting and revision, and interpretation of data. MC: planning, conduct, reporting, drafting and revision, and interpretation of data. AG: conception and design, planning, conduct, reporting, drafting and revision, acquisition of data and interpretation of data.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.