Percutaneous Cholecystostomy Tube Leading to a “Floating” Gallbladder: A Case Report

In patients with significant comorbid conditions, acute cholecystitis is managed through surgical intervention or with cholecystostomy tube placement (CTP). The literature is not definitive in its recommendations for cholecystectomy versus cholecystostomy. This case report describes a presentation of acute calculous cholecystitis managed with CTP. Over a 10-week period, due to complications with the tube, the decision was made to perform a cholecystectomy. Upon open surgical exploration, an atraumatic, ruptured, and chronically inflamed gallbladder was found without attachment to the subhepatic plate and, in essence, free “floating” in the peritoneum. To our knowledge, this is the first-known documented case report in the English medical literature. An elderly woman, with significant co-morbidities, following two months of antibiotic treatment for acute cholecystitis and subsequent percutaneous cholecystostomy tube placement and re-placements, underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which was converted to open surgery. Upon exploration, a detached, “floating” gallbladder was found posterior to the transverse colon and removed after lysing extensive peritoneal adhesions. Subsequent to the cholecystectomy, the patient had uncomplicated recovery. The literature does not present a clear consensus on CTP use vs early cholecystectomy in high-risk patients with acute cholecystitis. This management decision is based primarily on the surgeon’s clinical judgment and the use of evidence-based risk assessment indices. The "floating gallbladder" is a rare, benign complication that affirms the importance of extensively assessing the risks and benefits of CTP as compared to cholecystectomy in the elderly and/or comorbid patient.