Recent Advances of Surgical Treatment for Gallbladder Carcinoma

Abstract

Surgery for gallbladder carcinoma is the only treatment for curing it. The surgical procedure differs depending on the depth of invasion. For T1 gallbladder carcinoma, open cholecystectomy without lymph node dissection is performed as a standard. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has not been recommended because it may increase the risk of peritoneal dissemination and port site recurrence, but now laparoscopic cholecystectomy by an expert surgeon is going to be accepted. For T2, T3, and T4 gallbladder carcinoma, cholecystectomy with liver resection and lymph node dissection is performed. The extent of liver resection and resection of extrahepatic bile duct does not affect prognosis. The curative resection, which means the surgical margins are negative, is essential for surgical treatment of the gallbladder carcinoma.