Abstract
Little has been reported on liver abscess as a complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This paper deals with a case of a liver abscess caused by temporary circulatory disturbance of the hepatic artery after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The patient was a 74–year–old man complaining of right hypochondralgia. He was seen at the hospital after several boats of right hypochondralgia. Following close exploration, he was found to have cholecystolithiasis, cholecystitis, diabetes, and fatty liver. Laparosccopic cholecystectomy was performed with the diagnosis of cholecystolithiasis. High fever and mild degree of retarded hepatic impairment occurred after the operation, but they subsided spontaneously. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the 10th postoperative day, but he was seen at the hospital again because of abdominal pain on the 24th postoperative day. Ultrasonography and CT scan of the abdomen offered a diagnosis of abscess in the anterior segment of the liver. Favorable blood flow in the hepatic artery and portal vein were revealed and no dilatation of the bile duct was demonstrated. Inflammatory reaction was mild and internal use of antibiotics was started on an ambulant basis. Thereafter symptomatic remission was attained and a remarkable shrinkage of the tumor was identified on an abdominal CT scan done on the 46th postoperative day.
It is etiologically considered that temporary circulatory disturbance of the hepatic arteriole in the right anterior segment of the liver had caused the liver abscess.
