Incidental cholecystectomy during major abdominal surgery in the elderly.

Forty-four elderly patients with an average age of seventy-eight years were found to have cholelithiasis during unrelated major abdominal surgery. Thirty-nine of them underwent incidental cholecystectomy, one had cholecystostomy, and four had no surgical treatment of their gallbladder disease. Of the thirty-nine patients with an incidental cholecystectomy, none died and only sixteen had nonfatal complications. Of these complications, only one was clearly related to the cholecystectomy and resolved spontaneously. The results compare favorably with other reports of similar procedures in elderly patients. Incidental cholecystectomy does not seem to significantly alter the mortality and morbidity of elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. We advocate incidental cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis in elderly patients as long as the gallbladder is easily accessible and the condition of the patient warrants the additional procedure.