[Gallbladder duplication--laparoscopic cholecystectomy 17 years after open cholecystectomy].

INTRODUCTION: Duplication of the gallbladder is a rare congenital anomaly. An incidence of 2.5:10,000 has been published in autoptic studies.
METHODS: We carried out an analysis of the published case reports of the last 30 years to examine those cases in which an accessory gallbladder was pre- or intraoperatively detected or missed and to evaluate the implications of the time of diagnosis of the duplication on the surgical therapy.
RESULTS: 28 case reports were analysed. If the duplication of the gallbladder was recognised pre-operatively or during operation, both gallbladders could be removed via laparoscopy in 80 % of the cases. Missing the second gallbladder can lead to persisting symptoms, postoperative complications as well as a recrudescence of the cholecystolithiasis with following reoperation. If a reoperation for a missed second gallbladder was necessary, only 14.3 % of these operations could be performed via laparoscopy. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a missed gall-bladder duplication with an acute cholecystitis causing a reoperation 17 years after the initial operation. A laparoscopic cholecystectomy was possible even though the initial operation was performed through open surgery.
CONCLUSION: If recognised in preoperative examinations or during surgery a laparoscopic cholecystectomy of both gallbladders is possible in the majority of cases with duplicated gallbladder. Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart-New York.