Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hepatolithiasis in dogs after gallbladder removal did not cause bile
By Luo, Emmy Y et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2026·Cornell University, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Presence of hepatolithiasis in dogs undergoing cholecystectomy did not lead to biliary obstruction within the first postoperative year in 14 cases (2014-2024).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 dogs, aged between 3 and 13 years, underwent surgery to remove their gallbladders due to gallbladder disease and were found to have stones in their liver ducts (hepatolithiasis) before the operation. After surgery, none of the dogs experienced long-term issues related to these stones, and they did not need any additional surgeries or treatments for complications. Although two dogs did not survive the surgery, the remaining dogs showed no signs of further problems related to the stones during a follow-up period of up to nearly 10 years. Overall, the presence of hepatolithiasis did not negatively affect their recovery or long-term health.
People also search for: dog gallbladder surgery recovery · hepatolithiasis in dogs · gallbladder disease in dogs · dog liver stones treatment · cholecystectomy in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term clinical significance of hepatolithiasis identified in dogs undergoing cholecystectomy. ANIMALS: 14 dogs that underwent cholecystectomy at a single university and had evidence of mineralizations or stones within the intrahepatic ducts on preoperative ultrasound between January 1, 2014, and May 31, 2024, were included. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: Dogs diagnosed with gallbladder disease requiring cholecystectomy and hepatolithiasis on preoperative ultrasound with or without intrahepatic duct dilation. RESULTS: Of 183 dogs undergoing cholecystectomy in 10 years, 14 (8%) were diagnosed with hepatolithiasis on preoperative diagnostic imaging. The median age and weight at the time of surgery were 11 years old (range, 3 to 13 years) and 7.3 kg (range, 1.63 to 30.0 kg), respectively. Gallbladder culture results were available for 12 of 14 dogs, showing no growth in 7 of 12 (58%), unimicrobial growth in 3 of 12 (25%), and polymicrobial growth in 2 of 12 (16.7%). Liver biopsies most commonly revealed hepatitis or cholangiohepatitis (9 of 14 [64%]). None of the dogs had any hepatoliths addressed during the cholecystectomy procedure. Perioperative mortality occurred in 2 of 14 (14%). No dogs surviving the perioperative period required follow-up surgical intervention due to progression or migration of hepatoliths into the common bile duct or other intrahepatic biliary obstruction within a median follow-up of 538.5 days (range, 147 to 3,316 days). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Hepatolithiasis did not pose long-term complications in this population of dogs undergoing cholecystectomy. Dogs did not require secondary surgeries or long-term medical management for hepatolithiasis; therefore, the prognosis did not appear to be worse in dogs undergoing cholecystectomy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40961978/