Histopathological Analysis of Gallbladder Specimens Obtained During Living Donor Hepatectomy

Objectives: Cholecystectomy is routinely performed during living donor hepatectomy and subsequently sent for routine histopathological examination. In this report, we reviewed the clinical and histopathological data of the resected gallbladders to give insight about the incidence of occult gallbladder pathologies among healthy adults.
Methods: The medical records of adult living liver donors between December 15th, 2017 and October 15th, 2023 were reviewed. Demographics, gallbladders gross and microscopic pathological data were collected. Male Vs. Female donors clinicopathological data were compared. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Two hundred-ninety five donors were reviewed. The median (95 % CI) age was 33 (32-35) years. The male/female ratio was 187 /108. The median (95 % CI) body mass index was 24.8 (24.2-26.0) kg/m2. The blood group were as follows: O (145; 49%), A (95; 32%), B (46; 16%) and AB (9; 3%). Topographically, the resected gallbladders showed a median length of 75 (75-80) mm, median width of 30 (30-35) mm while the median wall thickness was 2.0 (2.0-3.0) mm. The overall incidence of chronic cholecystitis was 41% (122/295) and normal gallbladder structure was found in 166 (56%) cases. No metaplastic or invasive pathologies were detected. Male donors were younger [32 (30-34) vs 34 (32-37); p=0.040], with higher median BMI [26 (25.5-27.1) vs 22.9 (21.6-24.3); p=0.002], with longer gallbladders [80 (80-85) vs 75 (75-80); p=0.002] and with more thick gallbladder wall [2.0 (2.0-3.0) vs 2.0 (2.0-3.0); p=0.034] than females. There was no statistically significant gender difference as regards the incidence of final histopathological diagnoses.
Conclusion: Resected gallbladders during living donor hepatectomy should be routinely sent for histopathological analysis for the detection of occult pathologies among healthy adults.