Laparoscopy in the management of emphysematous cholecystitis and secondary appendicitis in an 11-year-old child with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Acute abdomen in a diabetic child may cause diagnostic dilemma. Acalculous emphysematous cholecystitis (EC), although reported among critically ill or diabetic adults, is an uncommon occurrence in the children. It may complicate the presentation due to its varied manifestations; especially when associated with other concomitant intra-abdominal inflammatory pathologies. We encountered a rare concurrence of acute EC complicated with pericholecystic fluid collection and secondary appendicitis causing non-specific acute abdomen in an 11-year-old obese boy with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Laparoscopy proved to be a highly useful tool in the diagnosis and treatment of this surgical dilemma.