LAPAROSCOPIC RESECTION OF UNRAPTURED ANEURYSM OF THE RIGHT GASTROEPIPLOCIC ARTERY-REPORT OF A CASE

Gastroepiploic artery aneurysm is a rare entity and presents a great deal of difficulty in preoperative diagnosis. Most cases of the disease which been reported so far presented with some symptoms due to the rupture. This time, we experienced a case of unruptured right gastroepiploic artery aneurysm, which was incidentally detected during preoperative examinations for a gallbladder tumor and successfully resected together with the gallbladder under laparoscopy. A 51-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for the treatment of a gallbladder tumor which was found at a medical chekup. Abdominal angiography revealed aneurysm cystic aneurysm in 1cm diameter in the right gastroepiploic artery. So a laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed, followed by a removal of the aneurysm after intraoperative frozen section diagnosis of the gallbladder tumor was confirmed to be benign. The disease in which the artery can be exposed easily would be a good indication for laparoscopic surgery. Since the laparoscopic surgery is generally used, is less invasive, and can be easily accepted by patients, the procedure might be the therapy of choice for unruptured gastroepiploic artery aneurysm.