Rigler triad in gallstone ileus

Tríada de Rigler en íleo biliar

Lorena Brandariz-Gil, Tamara Fernández-de-Miguel and José Perea

Department of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery. Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre. Madrid, Spain

An 82-year-old female was referred to our department with symptoms of abdominal distension and pain, constipation and vomiting in the past 48 hours. The clinical exam showed distension and diffuse abdominal pain, with no signs of peritonism. It was associated with 38 ^oC fever, leukocytosis and elevated creatinina in laboratory tests.

The abdominal X-ray (Fig. 1) showed small bowel dilatation as a result of an intestinal obstruction, an image of lithiasis in the lower right quadrant and aerobilia. By abdominal CT scan, chronic cholecystitis, intrahepatic aerobilia, and a cholecystoduodenal fistula were recognized (Fig. 2), associated with an intestinal obstruction caused by a gallstone in terminal ileum (gallstone ileus).

Surgical exeresis of the gallstone was performed to resolve the intestinal obstruction, with a second-look surgery for the cholecystoduodenal fistula.

Gallstone ileus is an infrequent complication of a biliary disease that produces an intestinal obstruction. This is a mechanic obstruction caused by a gallstone passing through a bilio-digestive communication, usually a cholecystoduodenal fistula (1). It is more prevalent in elderly females as a result of an unresolved chronic cholecystitis. The X-ray findings are usually nonspecific, and observing a complete Rigler triad, which includes aerobilia, ectopic gallstone and intestinal obstruction signs, is exceptional (2). The treatment to resolve the intestinal obstruction is surgical (3), usually with a second-look surgery to remove the chronic chulecystitis and to repair the bilio-digestive fistula.

References

1. Masannat Y, Masannat Y, Shatnawei A. Gallstone ileus: A review. Mt Sinai J Med 2006;73:1132-4.         [ Links ]

2. Rigler LG, Borman CN, Noble JF. Gallstone obstruction: Pathogenesis and roentgen manifestations. J Am Med Assoc 1941;117:1753-9. DOI: 10.1001/jama.1941.02820470001001.         [ Links ]

3. Moberg AC, Montgomery. Laparoscopically assisted or open enterolithotomy for gallstone ileus. A Br J Surg 2007;94:53-7. DOI: 10.1002/bjs.5537.         [ Links ]

4. Zaliekas J, Munson JL. Complications of gallstones: The Mirizzi syndrome, gallstone ileus, gallstone pancreatitis, complications of "lost" gallstones. Surg Clin North Am 2008;88:1345-68. DOI: 10.1016/j.suc.2008.07.011.         [ Links ]