CHOLELITHIASIS IN CHILDHOOD (clinical case)

Abstract

Introduction. Our adolescent population leads a sedentary lifestyle that adversely affects the function of the digestive system, which will certainly lead to bile thickening and, thereafter, to the formation of biliary sludge and stones. The choice of cholecystectomy surgery in children is indicated when a concretion is found in the gallbladder and the presence of malformations of the biliary tract and liver, or a concretion of choledochus, as well as a concretion of bilirubin nature in the gallbladder. The internationally accepted standard today, as in adult surgery, is laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
The study aimed to show the growing urgency of cholelithiasis in children and to confirm the “gold standard” of surgical treatment.
Material and methods. A clinical case from the medical history archive of the Damumed Republican database. Patient D., 13 years old, was admitted to the clinic with a diagnosis of “Cholelithiasis. Acute on chronic calculous cholecystitis”.
Results. The pathology of cholelithiasis and stone cholecystitis in children is no longer rare. Modern diagnostic equipment – ultrasound, MRI, and CPGA – allows for timely diagnostics and, most importantly, choosing the right surgical treatment method, laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Discussion of the results. Cholelithiasis in children is also a social problem related to the prevention, surgical treatment, and rehabilitation of children. With onset in childhood, the disease progression can lead to serious complications at any age and most often requires surgical removal of the gallbladder.
Conclusions. Cholelithiasis is a polyetiological disease that progresses in childhood with characteristic etiological and clinical signs and course. This urges the search for approaches to identify and further choose conservative and surgical treatment methods. And just like in the adult population, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the “gold standard” of surgical treatment in children.