International Surgery Journal | February 2024 | Vol 11 | Issue 2 Page 284
International Surgery Journal
Vagholkar K et al. Int Surg J. 2024 Feb;11(2):284-286
http://www.ijsurgery.com pISSN 2349-3305 | eISSN 2349-2902
Case Report
Post-laparoscopic cholecystectomy pancreatitis
Ketan Vagholkar*, Suvarna Vagholkar, Tanay Purandare
INTRODUCTION
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is one of the commonest
operations performed on the biliary tract. Multitude of
complications may develop depending upon the difficulty
of situation caused by inflammation and adhesions during
the course of surgery. Majority of these are related to the
biliary system. Acute pancreatitis following laparoscopic
cholecystectomy is an extremely rare complication.
1
What causes acute pancreatitis in such a setting continues
to be a debatable issue. A case of acute pancreatitis in a
37-year-old lady who had undergone laparoscopic
cholecystectomy is presented to create awareness of this
complication as well as to outline further surgical care in
such cases.
CASE REPORT
A 37-year-old lady with established diagnosis of
uncomplicated gall stones presented for evaluation. On
general examination there was no icterus or pallor.
Physical examination of the abdomen did not reveal any
abnormality. LFT and CBC were within normal limits.
USG of the abdomen revealed multiple gall stones. No
evidence of gall bladder wall thickening or CBD
dilatation or stones. Patient underwent Lap-chole. Intra-
operatively, it was revealed to be a normal CBD with a
patent cystic duct (Figure 1). Intraoperative and post-
operative course was uneventful event. Patient presented
3 weeks after discharge with severe excruciating pain in
the upper abdomen. On examination, the patient was
Icteric, pulse was 110 beats/min and the blood pressure
were 110/70 mmHg.
Per abdomen examination revealed rebound tenderness
and guarding in the epigastrium, CBC showed a total
count 11,790. Total bilirubin-4 mg/dl with a direct
bilirubin of 2.8 mg/dl whereas SGPT and SGOT were
normal. Serum lipase was 2387 IU/l and serum amylase
was 5398 IU/l.
ABSTRACT
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is one of the commonest operations performed on the biliary system. Acute
pancreatitis following Lap-chole is quite uncommon. Whether pancreatitis is a complication or a sequalae to surgical
treatment of gall stone disease continues to be a debatable issue. A 37-year-old lady underwent laparoscopic
cholecystectomy for incidentally diagnosed gall stones. Early post-operative course was uneventful. The patient
presented 3 weeks after surgery with severe excruciating abdominal pain and was diagnosed as acute pancreatitis by
ultrasound evaluation. Liver function tests were altered with raised bilirubin, serum lipase and amylase. MRCP
revealed a normal biliary tract. Pancreas showed changes of acute interstitial pancreatitis. Patient responded to
conservative line of treatment. Acute pancreatitis could be a known complication following laparoscopic
cholecystectomy. What causes pancreatitis continues to be a matter for debate. MRCP is the investigation of choice.
Interventional endoscopy (ERCP) is indicated in cases of impacted gallstone in the CBD. While if the CBD is clear of
stones, aggressive conservative management will suffice.
Keywords: Post laparoscopic, Cholecystectomy, Pancreatitis, Treatment
Department of General Surgery, D. Y. Patil University School of Medicine, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Received: 27 November 2023
Accepted: 26 December 2023
*Correspondence:
Dr. Ketan Vagholkar,
E-mail: kvagholkar@yahoo.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-2902.isj20234164