Unexpected bile duct carcinoma presenting with port-site metastasis after laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholecystolithiasis.

On March 1, 1999, a 71-year-old woman was diagnosed as having cholecystolithiasis, for which she underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a local hospital. Intraoperative cholangiography was not performed. No malignant lesion was detected in the gallbladder. In March 2000, a subcutaneous tumor was pointed out at the port site in her abdomen, and resected. Histological examination revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma. On detailed examination, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) revealed a tumor, about 2 cm in diameter, in the lower bile duct. On June 1, she underwent pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy at our institute, and several disseminated lesions were detected at the port site and in the abdominal cavity. There have been few reports of bile duct carcinoma that developed peritoneal dissemination caused by leakage of bile during cholecystectomy. Leakage of bile should be prevented during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, even in patients not diagnosed as having cancer preoperatively.