Postgrad Med J: first published as 10.1136/pgmj.67.786.391 on 1 April 1991. Downloaded from Postgrad Med J (1991) 67, 391 - 392 i) The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine, 1991

Spontaneous external biliary uncomplicated by B.R.P. Birch and S.J. Cox Department ofSurgery, Watford General Hospital, Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, UK

Summary: External biliary fistulae are rare. Only 65 cases have been reported in the literature and in each instance gallstones were a complicating factor. We report in this paper the first case of spontaneous external (cholecystocutaneous) uncomplicated by gallstones.

Introduction External biliary fistulae, first described by Thilesus The necrotic area of the abdominal wall was in 1670 and common in the last century, have initially debrided under local anaesthesia with become rare since the advent of modern biliary antibiotic cover. The patient subsequently became surgery. There have been just 65 cases recorded apyrexial and was transfused to correct her since 19001,'2 and all of these were complicated by anaemia. gallstones. We report here the first case of spon- Four days after debridement the patient was taneous external biliary fistula in which gallstones returned to theatre for examination under anaes- were not a complicating factor. thetic. This showed there was a very narrow fistula

communicating intra-abdominally. A decision was copyright. made to proceed to laparotomy. An incision was Case report made encompassing all necrotic tissues on the abdominal wall and the fistula was seen to be A 79 year old woman was admitted with a painful communicating with the fundus of the , mass in the right upper quadrant ofher abdominal which was adherent to the anterior abdominal wall. wall. She gave a history of having noted a painful The gallbladder did not contain any stones, the swelling on the right side of her abdomen, which common duct was of normal calibre with no had slowly enlarged over a 2-week period. This palpable calculi, and the pancreas was normal. http://pmj.bmj.com/ burst spontaneously just after admission, with The gallbladder and fistula were excised en bloc subsequent relief of her pain. No gallstones were and the defect in the abdominal wall closed discharged at this or any subsequent time. A primarily in layers. Drains were left to the gall- foul-smelling, purulent discharge persisted. bladder bed and to the abdominal wound. Histo- On examination, she was noted to be pale and logy of the removed gallbladder showed severe obese and had a low grade pyrexia. The abdomen active chronic inflammation and granulation tis- was soft with a necrotic area in the right upper sue. There was no evidence of malignancy. Post- quadrant discharging foul-smelling, purulent operatively the patient made an uneventful on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected material from several sinuses. No masses could be recovery. Outpatient review at 6 and 12 weeks distinguished with certainty and rectal examination showed her to be well with a soundly healed was normal. abdominal wound. Initial investigations showed her to be anaemic with an haemoglobin of 8.4 g/dl and white cell count 8.4 x 10/1 (84% neutrophils). A plain ab- Discussion dominal radiograph showed surgical emphysema of the soft tissue of the right abdominal wall. All Niemeier3 classified perforation of the gallbladder blood tests were otherwise normal and swabs taken into acute, subacute and chronic varieties, only the for culture grew coliforms with Bacteroidesfragifis. latter being characterized by fistula formation. Of such fistulae the majority are enteric4 ( 77%, colon 15%) while external fistulae are rare. Correspondence and present address: B.R.P. Birch, External biliary fistula formation is chiefly a M.A., F.R.C.S., Institute of Urology, 172 Shaftesbury of females in the 5th-7th decades, re- Avenue, London WC2, UK flecting the increased incidence of in Accepted: 2 May 1990 this age group. The majority of these fistulae open Postgrad Med J: first published as 10.1136/pgmj.67.786.391 on 1 April 1991. Downloaded from 392 CLINICAL REPORTS into the right upper quadrant (48%) or umbilicus flammatory to the abdominal parietes (27%).' then allows external fistula formation after per- Perforation of the gallbladder without stones is foration. said to complicate 0.6-1% of all cases of acute The treatment of acute fistula requires adequate cholecystitis.5 The aetiology of perforation in such drainage, antibiotics and general supportive cases is not clear, although bacteraemia, steroids, measures. Once the purulent drainage subsides polyarteritis nodosa, typhoid and trauma have all fistulography can be performed, followed at a been implicated.5 Roslyn and Busuttil6 have drawn suitable interval by elective cholecystectomy with attention to the importance ofthe roles ofinfection excision ofthe fistula. However, as up to 20% ofall and circulatory changes in the pathogenesis of external biliary fistulae heal spontaneously' the perforation in the elderly. elderly debilitated patient may be treated conser- The net effect of such factors is to provide the vatively and surgery deferred depending on symp- necessary conditions for necrosis and perforation toms. of the relatively avascular fundus. Prior in-

References 1. Henry, C.I. & Orr, T.G. Spontaneous external biliary fistulae. 5. Sherlock, S. of the Liver and Biliary System. 7th Surgery 1949, 26: 641-646. edition. Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, pp. 517-518. 2. Fitchett, C.W. Spontaneous external biliary fistulae. Va Med 6. Roslyn, J. & Busuttil, R.W. Perforation of the gallbladder a 1970, 97: 538-543. frequently mismanaged condition. Am J Surg 1979, 137: 3. Niemeier, O.W. Acute free perforation ofthe gallbladder. Ann 307-312. Surg 1934, 99: 922-924. 4. Glenn, F., Reed, C. & Grafe, W.R. Biliary enteric fistula. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1981, 153: 527-531. copyright. http://pmj.bmj.com/ on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected