Necessity of routine histopathological examination of gall bladder specimens after elective cholecystectomy: An experience at Tertiary Care Hospital of Southern Punjab Pakistan

Abstract

Objectives: Few centers adopt a selective approach in sending these specimens to pathology department for histopathology whereas it is a routine procedure in our setup. In our study, few unexpected cases of adenocarcinoma of gall bladder were seen during investigation of results of pathological examination of gall bladder specimens. Study Design: A retrospective histopathological analysis of gall bladder specimens removed during elective cholecystectomy for benign diseases was done. Setting: Department of Pathology, Quaid-e-Azam Medical College/Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur. Period: 1^st January 2018 to 31^st December 2018. Material & Methods: The demographic properties of the patients were evaluated from the past records and their association was seen with the histopathological diagnosis and frequency of unexpected cases of gall bladder carcinoma. Results: Total of 840 cases were reviewed with mean age of the patient 42.48±14.8 years. The most frequent diagnosis was chronic cholecystitis with cholelithiasis (n=806) which was associated with upper abdominal pain (p<0.01). It was more prevalent among females sex (n=742). Six patients (0.7%) showed evidence of adenocarcinoma of gall bladder which had no gross abnormality on macroscopic examination. Conclusion: It is very significant to do routine histopathological examination of all the gall bladder specimens removed for benign diseases during elective cholecytectomies which incidentally may also be associated with carcinoma gall bladder and may require further surgical intervention.