Latent adenocarcinoma of the colon discovered during or after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND

The wide acceptance of laparoscopic cholecystectomy has resulted in the performance of increased numbers of cholecystectomies, hence increasing the number of patients discovered with concomitant malignancy or other pathological states.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

A total of 3751 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy between January 1995 and December 2000 were included in this study. Nine cases of coexisting malignant colonic neoplasm were discovered. All of these patients but one underwent therapeutic resection.

RESULTS

The survival rate of these nine patients was the same as that of 62 consecutive colonic cancer patients who were treated in our department over the same period. The rate of postoperative complications in the study group was higher than in the control group (21 % vs. 9.5 %). The hospital stay in these patients was also greater (17 days vs. 10 days).

CONCLUSION

The rate of incidental discovery of colorectal carcinomas during laparoscopic cholecystectomy in our department was 0.24 %. These patients had higher complication rates and a longer hospital stay.