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Unusual cause of gas complicating a biloma, postcholecystectomy
  1. Cameron Spence1,2,
  2. Fatima Ahmad1,2,
  3. Louisa Bolton3 and
  4. Amit Parekh1
  1. 1Radiology Department, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, Poole, UK
  2. 2Radiology Department, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
  3. 3Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, Bournemouth, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Cameron Spence; camspence987{at}gmail.com

Abstract

A 50-year-old man presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, vomiting and fever. He had been admitted 6 months ago with acute cholecystitis when he underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to remove ductal gallstones. Elective cholecystectomy was performed 3 days prior to the current admission. CT demonstrated a fluid and gas containing collection in the gallbladder fossa, biliary gas and free intra-abdominal gas. ERCP revealed a retained common bile duct gallstone and leakage from the cystic duct remnant. We postulate that the gas within the collection originated from intrahepatic gas post-ERCP or from a gas forming organism. The free intra-abdominal gas originated from the collection rather than an intraoperative bowel injury. This complicated case highlights an unusual appearance of a common complication. It demonstrates the importance of discussion with the clinical team to ensure that an accurate diagnosis is made and the correct treatment is provided.

  • gas/free gas
  • endoscopy
  • pancreas and biliary tract
  • radiology
  • gastrointestinal surgery

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Footnotes

  • Twitter @drcamspence

  • Contributors AP designed the case report and revised and gave final approval of the article for submission. CS, FA and LB were involved in data acquisition, interpretation and analysis, and drafted and revised the article.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.