Abdominal Wall Abscess Formation Two Years After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

BACKGROUND: Spillage of gallstones within the subcutaneous tissue during laparoscopic cholecystecomy may lead to considerable morbidity. METHODS: We describe an abdominal wall abscess formation in a 50-year-old female that developed 24 months after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. RESULTS: Spilled gallstones at the umbilical port site went undetected. Subsequently, an umbilical port-site abscess formed and was treated 2 years later. CONCLUSION: Any patient with a foreign body in the subcutaneous tissues after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be considered to have a retained stone. Use careful dissection, copious irrigation, and a retrieval device to avoid stone spillage. If spillage does occurs, percutaneous drainage and antibiotics followed by open retrieval of the stones should achieve adequate results during those delayed presentations of abdominal wall abscesses.