Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a renal transplant recipient.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a viable and safe alternative for the treatment of symptomatic gallstones and biliary colic. As surgeons gain more experience with this procedure, contraindications become fewer and indications increase. Well-documented advantages of this approach include less patient discomfort, less surgical scarring, and earlier return to employment. Not previously discussed in the literature, however, are the additional advantages that this procedure holds for a specific subset of patients--namely, those patients that have undergone successful organ transplantation and are receiving immunosuppressive drugs. We report a case of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in such a patient.