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Acute cholecystitis historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Furqan M M. M.B.B.S[2]

Overview

Overview

Gallstones are found in 3500 years old Egyptian mummies during the autopsies. In 1420, Antonio Benivieni was the first to describe gallstones. Carl Langenbuch performed the first cholecystectomy of a 43-year-old man who had suffered from biliary colic for sixteen years. Historically, open cholecystectomy was the treatment employed for the treatment acute cholecystitis. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was developed to treat acute cholecystitis and the shift from open to laparoscopic cholecystectomy occurred in the late 1980s.

Historical Perspective

Historical Perspective

Discovery

Landmark Events in the Development of Treatment Strategies

Landmark Events in the Development of Treatment Strategies

The landmarks in the development of treatment strategies for acute cholecystitis are:[5][6]

  • In 1733, Jean-Louis Petit, a Parisian surgeon suggested that if biliary colic occurred in association with reddening of the abdominal skin, the surgeon should lance the area, remove the gallstones, and leave a gall fistula. In 1743, he performed this procedure.
  • In 1859, when J. L. W. Thudichum proposed a two-stage elective cholecystostomy.
  • In 1882, Langenbuch performed the first cholecystectomy of a 43-year-old man who had suffered from biliary colic for sixteen years.
  • By 1890, 47 cholecystectomies were performed by twenty-seven surgeons, and in 1897 the number had risen to nearly a hundred operations with a mortality of less than 20%.
  • Historically, open cholecystectomy was the treatment employed for the treatment of acute cholecystitis.
  • Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was developed to treat acute cholecystitis and the shift from open to laparoscopic cholecystectomy occurred in the late 1980s.
References

References

  1. Stinton LM, Myers RP, Shaffer EA (2010). “Epidemiology of gallstones”. Gastroenterol. Clin. North Am. 39 (2): 157–69, vii. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2010.02.003. PMID 20478480.
  2. Weir, J. (1953). Gallstones. Veterans Administration Technical Bulletin TB. pp. 10–92. Vancouver style error: non-Latin character (help)
  3. Bett, W R (1934). A short history of some common diseases, edited by W.R. Bett. Oxford university press, H. Milford. Vancouver style error: punctuation (help)
  4. Langenbuch C (1696). Ein Ruckblick auf die Entwicklung der Chirurgie des Callensystems. Verhandlungen der Deutschen Cesselschaft fur Chirurgie. p. 661.
  5. Traverso LW (1976). “Carl Langenbuch and the first cholecystectomy”. Am. J. Surg. 132 (1): 81–2. PMID 782269.
  6. Knab LM, Boller AM, Mahvi DM (2014). “Cholecystitis”. Surg. Clin. North Am. 94 (2): 455–70. doi:10.1016/j.suc.2014.01.005. PMID 24679431.

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