Results of percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy for high surgical risk patients with acute cholecystitis

Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy (PTC) in treatment for acute cholecystitis in high surgical risk patients. Patients and methods: A retrospective review was carried out from January 1999 to June 2007 on 23 patients, 11 males and 12 females, who underwent PTC for the management of acute cholecystitis at the Department of Surgery, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China. The mean age of the patients was 83. They all had either clinical or radiological evidence of acute cholecystitis and had significant pre‐morbid diseases. The median follow‐up period on them was 35 months. Results: All the PTCs performed were technically successful. One patient died from procedure‐related haemoperitoneum, while 87% (n= 20) of all the patients had clinical resolution of sepsis by 20 h after PTC. Eight patients underwent elective cholecystectomy afterwards (62.5% with the laparoscopic approach). Eight patients had dislodgement of the PTC catheter and one of them developed recurrent acute cholecystitis 3 months after PTC. That patient was treated conservatively. Four patients died from their pre‐morbid conditions during the follow‐up period. Conclusion: PTC was a safe and effective alternative for treating acute cholecystitis in this group of patients. Thirteen of them without elective cholecystectomy performed did not have recurrent acute cholecystitis after a single session of PTC. It may be considered as a definitive treatment for this group of patients.