|
Indian Journal of Surgery, Vol. 68, No. 5, September-October, 2006, pp. 288 Letter To Editor Cholecystectomy for asymptomatic gallstone patients Arya PrafullK Department of Surgery, SPS Apollo Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab Code Number: is06087 Related Article: is06058 Sir, The article by Khanna et al - ′Histological changes in gall bladder due to stone disease′ is very interesting and thought-provoking.[1] There have been controversies regarding the management of asymptomatic gallstone disease. It is now commonly agreed that gallstones are an important risk factor for facilitating development of gall bladder cancer, despite it being adenocarcinoma.[2] We have been traditionally doing cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallstone disease or gallstones with some coexisting morbid condition suggesting cholecystectomy for patients′ safe future. I agree that there is no relationship between the type and number of gallstones, and the epithelial changes occurring in the gall bladder. We at our centre have found pathological changes in the gall bladder wall in all cases, irrespective of the presence or severity of symptoms. Therefore, I further agree with the authors that cholecystectomy should be offered to all gallstone patients irrespective of symptoms. But as gall bladder cancer is directly related to the presence of gallstones most of the times, I would suggest that cholecystectomy should be offered even if patient comes from low incidence area for gall bladder cancer. References
Copyright 2006 - Indian Journal of Surgery |
|