Late-type port-site recurrence of unexpected gallbladder carcinoma 11 years after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

A 55-year-old man had laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis and unexpected gallbladder cancer, followed by a liver bed resection and lymph node dissection. Eleven years later, he had a port-site recurrence of gallbladder cancer requiring resection; at that time, no other site of recurrence was observed. The patient has survived for 20 months without another recurrence. Although a rare finding, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of such a recurrence even 11 years after complete cure of the primary tumor, particularly in patients who have undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy for unexpected gallbladder cancer.