Acute Cholecystitis Following Surgery Unrelated to the Biliary Tract

THE OCCURRENCE of acute cholecystitis following surgical treatment of disease unrelated to the biliary tract is a problem in diagnosis and management. The purpose of this communication is to briefly record 5 such cases, with particular emphasis on etiology. The fact that 3 of these 5 patients died underlines the desirability of early recognition and treatment. In 1947, Glenn1reported 17 cases of acute cholecystitis developing in the early postoperative period. Sparkman2in 1952 added 5 cases; Schwegman and DeMuth3in 1953 reported 17 cases occurring over a 23-year period; Glenn4in 1956 reported 18 additional cases occurring over a 9-year period between 1946 and 1955 on the surgical pavilions of the New York hospital; and 1 additional case was reported by Glenn and Redo5in 1960. Credit is due Glenn for first proposing that the etiology of this postoperative complication is directly related