Faisal Ghani Siddiqui

Routine histopathology of gallbladder after elective cholecystectomy for gallstones: waste of resources or a justified act?

BackgroundSelective approach for sending cholecystectomy specimens for histopathology results in missing discrete pathologies such as premalignant benign lesions such as porcelain gallbladder, carcinoma-in-situ, and early carcinomas. To avoid such blunders therefore, every cholecystectomy specimen should be routinely examined histologically. Unfortunately, the practice of discarding gallbladder specimen is standard in most tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan including the primary investigators’ own institution. This study was conducted to assess the feasibility or otherwise of performing histopathology in every specimen of gallbladder.MethodsThis cohort study included 220 patients with gallstones for cholecystectomy. All cases with known secondaries from gallbladder, local invasion from other viscera, traumatic rupture of gallbladder, gross malignancy of gallbladder found during surgery was excluded from the study. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in majority of cases except in those cases where anatomical distortion and dense adhesions prevented laparoscopy. All gallbladder specimens were sent for histopathology, irrespective of their gross appearance.ResultsOver a period of two years, 220 patients with symptomatic gallstones were admitted for cholecystectomy. Most of the patients were females (88%). Ninety two per cent patients presented with upper abdominal pain of varying duration. All specimens were sent for histopathology. Two hundred and three of the specimens showed evidence chronic cholecystitis, 7 acute cholecystitis with mucocele, 3 acute cholecystitis with empyema and one chronic cholecystitis associated with poly. Six gallbladders (2.8%) showed adenocarcinoma of varying differentiation along with cholelithiasis.ConclusionThe histopathological spectrum of gallbladder is extremely variable. Incidental diagnosis of carcinoma gall bladder is not rare; if the protocol of routine histopathology of all gallbladder specimens is not followed, subclinical malignancies would fail to be identified with disastrous results. We strongly recommend routine histopathology of all cholecystectomy specimens.

An audit of secondary peritonitis at a tertiary care university hospital of Sindh, Pakistan

ObjectivePeritonitis is the most common life threatening surgical emergency, which requires urgent surgical intervention and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to highlight the frequency of secondary peritonitis and to analyze the site and causes of perforation, in our tertiary care setup.MethodsA retrospective analysis of 311 patients of secondary peritonitis was done from July 2008 to June 2010 at Liaquat University Hospital Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. All cases found to have peritonitis as a result of perforation of any part of gastrointestinal tract at the time of surgery were included in the study. All cases with either primary peritonitis or that due to anastomotic dehiscence were excluded.ResultsA total of 311 patients were studied. Most of the patients were males (77%) and (89%) were in the third and fourth decades of life. Majority of the patients presented with pain (97%) associated with bowel symptoms. Most common site of perforation was small bowel (ileal 59%, jujenal 2%). In this series, most common risk factor of perforation was typhoid (43%). Ileostomy was the most commonly performed procedure. Overall morbidity was 48.5% and mortality was 17%.ConclusionConsidering the relatively higher rate of typhoid perforation quoted in this study, it is vital that typhoid fever ought to be eliminated by improved sanitation and immunizing programmes, otherwise surgeons will be confronted with its complications.