Other Surgical Diseases of the Gallbladder and Biliary Tract: Cholecystitis, Neoplasia, Infarct, and Trauma

Trauma to the biliary tract is one of the most common causes of sterile bile peritonitis in veterinary patients. The most common site of common bile duct rupture is just distal to the entrance of the last hepatic duct but the distal common bile duct, cystic duct, and hepatic ducts may also be injured. The proposed mechanism of bile duct rupture from trauma involves rapid gallbladder emptying at the time of impact and a simultaneous shearing force applied to a relatively short duct system. Successful repair of ruptured ducts has recently been reported using fine suture and either an interrupted or simple continuous pattern. Necrotizing cholecystitis has been reported to be a common cause of gallbladder rupture in dogs. Impaired cystic artery circulation by occlusion, bacterial infection, or cystic duct obstruction from choleliths, neoplasia or an adjacent inflammatory process may lead to cholecystitis.