Single-stage laparoscopic treatment of a cholecystoduodenal fistula with perforated small bowel ileus and fibrinous purulent peritonitis. A single case study

Abstract

Gallstone ileus is a rare complication of recurrent cholecystitis and one of the rarest causes of mechanical bowel obstruction, with an increasing incidence in the elderly. We present a case of multiple small bowel perforations of the jejunum due to gallstone obstruction and the incidental finding of high‑grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasia of the appendix. To our knowledge, this is the first such case to be described and completely resolved by a laparoscopic approach.

An 83‑year‑old woman presented to our emergency department with severe vomiting, constipation, and deterioration of her general condition. A computed tomography scan revealed thickening of the gallbladder with a continuous aerobe to the duodenum, a mechanical obstruction of the small intestine at the transition to the ileum, and a thickened and calcified appendix. Due to a high suspicion of gallbladder perforation with the formation of a bilio‑duodenal fistula, the patient underwent an emergency exploratory laparoscopy, which revealed a small bowel perforation in three segments with marked local fibrinous, purulent, and stercoral peritonitis of the left hemiabdomen. The gallstone was retrieved through the perforated small bowel, and a partial small bowel resection and a cecal wedge resection were performed laparoscopically. Small bowel continuity was restored with an anisoperistaltic side‑to‑side jejuno‑jejunostomy. The patient was discharged on postoperative day eight.

Despite advances in imaging, gallstone ileus remains a diagnostic challenge. Because the disease occurs predominantly in elderly patients, gallstone ileus remains associated with high morbidity and mortality. It remains unclear from the literature whether the optimal surgical management of bilioenteric fistula is best resolved by a single‑stage or a two‑stage approach.