A Pediatric Case with Gallstones Treated with Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

: We report herein a case of a 13-year-old Japanese boy with symptomatic cholelithiasis. The patient was admitted to our hospital for investigation of right hypochondrial pain. An abdominal plain X-ray film showed calcifications at the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Ultrasonography and computed tomography of the abdomen revealed several stones in the gallbladder. He underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy under a diagnosis of idiopathic and radiopaque gallstones. Twelve calcium bilirubinate stones were found in the gallbladder. Reports of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in children are rare, and only 29 cases of 15 years of age or younger have been reported in Japan. This paper presents an additional case report of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a pediatric patient, body weight 32 kg, with symptomatic and pigment gallstones. We believe that laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be the procedure of choice for removal of the gallbladder even in children.