Gallstone ileus in the absence of a gallbladder is extremely rare; to our knowledge, only two previous cases are reported in the literature. In 1939 Dulin and Peterson reported a case of gallstone obstruction of the small bowel, but this diagnosis was made post mortem.1 In 1951 Warner and Swan reported a case of gallstone ileus two years postcholecystectomy in a man who previously had had a subtotal gastrectomy and gastrojejunostomy.2 The following is a case report of gallstone ileus occurring 15 years after cholecystectomy and nine years after common duct exploration for a single retained stone.
REPORT OF A CASE
A 69-year-old woman was admitted May 5, 1974, with a 36-hour history of cramping lower abdominal pains with associated nausea and vomiting. There had been no diarrhea, melena, or jaundice. Her history showed two ovarian cystectomies 24 and 23 years ago; hysterectomy and appendectomy 20 years ago; cholecystectomy