Gallbladder resections: Demographic characteristics and surgical pathology in Hong Kong revisited

Abstract

Objective: To study the demographic characteristics and surgical pathology of diseased gallbladders in Hong Kong. Design: Retrospective review of pathology records. Subjects: Surgically resected gallbladders submitted to the Department of Pathology of The University of Hong Kong at the Queen Mary Hospital from 1993 to 1996. Excluded were cases of essentially normal gallbladder resected for reasons other than diseases of the gallbladder Results: A total of 1,865 cases of cholecystectomies were selected. The mean age at cholecystectomy was 56.6 years (SD=15.5 years). Female outnumbered male patients in a ratio of 1.38:1. Age specific cholecystectomy rates among females were higher than those of the males in nearly all age groups. A steady rise in the age specific rates of cholecystectomy with age was observed. Patients in their sixties formed the largest group by age in decade and accounted for 24.2% of all cases. The estimated annual rate of cholecystectomy per 100,000 population in the 60 to 69-year age group was 247. Inflammatory diseases of the gallbladder accounted for 93.7% of all resections. There were 18 cases of primary carcinoma of the gallbladder. The estimated age standardized rate of primary cancers of gallbladder was 2.1 per 100,000 population. Adenoma, mucocele, infarction, schistosomiasis, and clanorchiasis were occasionally diagnosed on examination of the gallbladders. Conclusion: Cholecystectomies were most commonly performed for inflammatory gallbladder diseases. Females in almost every age group had a higher rate of gallbladder resections than males. Our earlier finding of a steady increase in cholecystectomy rate with advancing age was supported by the more recent data. The age specific cholecystectomy rates in the two studies were comparable.