Wandering gallbladder is a variation in the biliary anatomy described in the literature as being attached only by the cystic duct and its mesentery. Its propensity for torsion places it at risk for necrosis. There have been over 500 cases of gallbladder torsion reported in the literature but less than 10 reports of wandering gallbladder. To our knowledge there have been no reports of cholecystectomy for wandering gallbladder found incidentally. A 51-year-old male from Pakistan with hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease, high cholesterol, and renal stones presented with a chief complaint of right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Abdominal ultrasound was significant for a mildly distended gallbladder with small gallstones in the gallbladder fundus. The patient was discharged with a diagnosis of cholelithiasis and scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy as an outpatient. During the procedure, upon entering the abdominal cavity, a gallbladder was not seen in the gallbladder fossa. It was attached to the cystic duct, thickened with a long mesentery and not attached to the liver. There were no signs of torsion. The patient was treated successfully and discharged home with an uncomplicated hospital course. Diagnosis can be challenging because the clinical presentation can be variable. Fewer than a dozen cases have been reported where the diagnosis was made preoperatively. Early diagnosis of gallbladder torsion with cholecystectomy is essential to avoid the deadly complications of perforation and bilious peritonitis. Understanding the pathophysiology, clinical findings, and treatment can have a broad impact across biliary surgery in preventing these complications.
The purpose of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the technical efficacy, safety, and treatment outcomes of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of lung tumors in patients not amenable to surgery at an urban community hospital. Materials and Methods: Informed consent and IRB approval was obtained. Eligible tumors were defined as those in patients deemed poor surgical candidates by multidisciplinary consensus or those refusing surgery. Response to treatment was assessed by computed tomography (CT) performed immediately postprocedure and regular intervals up to 36 months later. Complete response was measured as a 30% decrease in mean tumor diameter without evidence of contrast enhancement or tumor growth within the ablation zone as defined by the response evaluation in solid tumors. Patient demographics, technical success, postprocedure complications, and survival were assessed and compared with data available in literature. Results: Twenty-four patients with a total of 29 tumors underwent percutaneous CT guided RFA for biopsy-proven lung malignancies between 2010 and 2016. Complete response was achieved in 82% (14/17) of treated tumors in patients who complied with postprocedure imaging recommendations. Immediate postprocedure complications occurred following 27.6% (8/29) ablations with pneumothorax being the most common, 17.2% (6/29). Mean survival is 28.5 months (95% confidence interval: 19.7-37.3). Progressive disease was seen in 18% (3/17) patients. No immediate treatment mortality was found. No significant difference was found in survival in patients with multiple comorbidities as measured by the Charlson Comorbidity Index. Conclusions: RFA of lung tumors is a well-tolerated procedure with low incidence of minor complications, a good tumor response and survival benefit in selected patients in the community setting. This is a positive endorsement of the potential success of tumor RFA programs outside of the academic setting. In addition, patients with multiple comorbidities should still be considered candidates for RFA as no difference was seen in survival in patients with multiple medical comorbidities.
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