The Rolling Stones: A case report of two surgical abdomens linked by migrating gallstones

INTRODUCTION: Acute abdominal pain accounts for 5% of all presentations to the emergency department (Stoker et al., 2009). Two of the most common causes are acute appendicitis and acute cholecystitis (Ferris et al., 2017). PRESENTATION: A 70-year-old man presented with acute calculous cholecystitis. He subsequently deteriorated clinically and re-imaging revealed interval migration of stones from the biliary system to the appendix with resultant acute appendicitis. DISCUSSION: Although both acute appendicitis and acute cholecystitis are common, dual pathology is rare. There are a small number of case reports of gallstones causing appendicitis (Vicari, 1964; Siegal et al., 1990; Meade, 1960). CONCLUSION: Our case report nicely illustrates. a) The importance of considering dual pathology, especially when there is an unexpected change in the patient’s clinical status. b) The CT features of two common acute surgical pathologies. c) The value of cholecystostomy- performed in the Interventional Radiology suite- as a temporizing measure to allow the patient to recover from a critical illness.