Gallbladder Duplication - Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy 17 Years after Open Cholecystectomy Case Report and Review of the Literature

Introduction: Duplication of the gallbladder is a rare congenital anomaly. An incidence of 2.5: 10000 has been published in autoptic studies. Methods: We carried out an analysis of the published case reports of the last 30years to examine those cases in which an accessory gallbladder was pre- or intraoperatively detected or missed and to evaluate the implications of the time of diagnosis of the duplication on the surgical therapy. Results: 28 case reports were analysed. If the duplication of the gallbladder was recognised preoperatively or during operation, both gallbladders could be removed via laparoscopy in 80% of the cases. Missing the second gallbladder can lead to persisting symptoms, postoperative complications as well as a recrudescence of the cholecystolithiasis with following reoperation. if a reoperation for a missed second gallbladder was necessary, only 14.3% of these operations could be performed via laparoscopy. Case Report: We report the case of a missed gallbladder duplication with an acute cholecystitis causing a reoperation 17years after the initial operation. A laparoscopic cholecystectomy was possible even though the initial operation was performed through open surgery. Conclusion: If recognised in preoperative examinations or during surgery a laparoscopic cholecystectomy of both gallbladders is possible in the majority of cases with duplicated gallbladder.