CHOLELITHIASIS AFTER TOTAL GASTRECTOMY FO R GASTRIC-CANCER

Aim: To examine the incidence of cholelithiasis in patients after tota l gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Patients and methods: Patients opera ted for gastric cancer at our hospital were retrospectively studied. C riteria to be included in the study were: 1) Follow-up of more than 3 years, 2) Cholelithiasis excluded preoperatively by ultrasonography, 3 ) Ultrasonographic postoperative control once a year. Results: Ten pat ients met the established criteria. Six of them developed biliary lith iasis, and four of them needed surgical treatment for biliary symptoma tology. Conclusions: The incidence of cholelithiasis after total gastr ectomy for gastric cancer is high, and surgical treatment is often nec essary. However our data does not support prophylactic cholecystectomy in the course of total gastrectomy.