Operative findings in patients with early forms of gallbladder cancer.

Of 52 patients diagnosed as having gallbladder cancer in a 2-year period, 15 had no evidence of serosal involvement. Four of these 15 patients had tumour confined to the mucosa and did not undergo reoperation while 11 patients underwent lymph node dissection and hepatic wedge resection at a second operation. The correct diagnosis was suspected before the first operation in only one of 11 patients undergoing reoperation; the tumour was found microscopically in seven patients. Of the 11 patients who underwent reoperation, five had lymph node involvement, and three of these patients had both liver and lymphatic involvement. Our results underline the difficulty of establishing the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer before operation and the lack of major morbidity and mortality suggests that there may be value in reoperating on patients found to have gallbladder carcinoma without serosal involvement. Further follow-up is required to assess the long-term value of this approach.