The presentation of gallstones and results of biliary surgery in a spinal cord injured population

Background: Since spinal cord injured patients lack visceral sensation, their clinical manifestations of gallstones could be relatively occult. A higher proportion of these individuals may present with advanced biliary disease compared with the general population. Prophylactic cholecystectomy for asymptomatic stones may therefore be justified. Methods: All spinal cord injured patients seen at the Seattle Veterans Hospital over a 5-year period were retrospectively surveyed to define a set of patients who had undergone a cholecystectomy. The operative indications and results were compared with those from a series of cholecystectomies in neurologically intact patients. Results: The presentation of biliary disease in spinal cord injured patients was not more advanced than that of neurologically intact patients. Patients with high cord injuries presented in a similar fashion to those with low injuries. Conclusions: Since most spinal cord injured patients with biliary disease present with typical findings, prophylactic removal of gallstones in these patients is not warranted.