Is it possible to perform cholecystectomy after findings suggest tumour attached to gallstones?
Patient: Hi there....have quick question.....i have an aunt whom recently was going to have her gall bladder removed due to having gall stones, but when the surgeon opened her up saw that there was a tumor attached and said he could not remove it....would you know why that was the case? Doctor: Hi,I am sorry to hear about your aunt's diagnosis. But it is fairly common to have a "surgical surprise" of seeing a tumor when operation is being carried out for gall stones. Your aunt's surgeon did the absolute right thing in aborting the operation. This is because your aunt needs to be investigated to evaluate the extent of tumor - whether it is limited to the gall bladder or spread to local lymph nodes or the liver. She will also need additional blood tests for checking for tumor markers. once all this is done, then her treatment can be tailored according to the stage of her disease and can include surgery, chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy.Hope this helped and please do not hesitate to ask for clarifications