Postoperative Complications in Carcinoma Gall Bladder: A Tertiary Care Hospital Experience

Abstract

Introduction: Gallbladder cancer is more common than any other part of the biliary system. Accounting between 2% and 3% of all cholecystectomies.

Aims &Objectives: To analyze different postoperative complications in various stages of operated gall bladder carcinoma.

Place and duration of study: Army Liver Transplant Unit (A.L.T.U.) Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi (P.E.M.H.), from November 2020 to April 2022.

Material & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study looked at all patients diagnosed with gallbladder cancer before surgery or who were subsequently found to have benign gallbladder cancer presenting with intra-luminal lesions and localized or diffuse wall thickening amenable to surgical treatment. A sequential sampling method was used to select the patients. A proforma was developed to streamline the data collection process. The patient's gallbladder cancer was staged using the A.J.C.C.'s Eighth Edition staging system, and the degree of complications was classified using the Clavien-Dindo system. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 23.

Results: A total of 27 patients were included in the study, with male to female ratio of 1:3; and a mean age of 50.1 ± 4.7 years (range 25-70 years). Six patients were in Stage-1 of whom only 1 (3.7%) developed grade – I complication; 9 patients were in Stage-2, out of which 2 (7.4%) developed grade – II complications; 6 patients were in Stage-3, out of which 2 (7.4%) patients developed grade – III and 1 (4.7%) patient developed grade-II postoperative complications. Six (22.2%) were in Stage-4 and underwent curative resection, where no patient developed postoperative complications. Conclusion: Surgery remains a solitary curative option for gall bladder carcinoma, and when patients are selected carefully, postoperative complications after radical surgery are not very high. Moreover, as the stage of the disease increases, so does the complication grade.