The CHOLEGAS Study: Multicentric Randomized, Double-blinded, Controlled Trial of Gastrectomy Plus Prophylactic Cholecystectomy Versus Gastrectomy Only, in Adults Submitted to Gastric Cancer Surgery With Curative Intent.

The incidence of gallstones and gallbladder sludge is known to be higher in patients after gastrectomy than in general population. This higher incidence is probably related to surgical dissection of the vagus nerve branches and the anatomical gastrointestinal reconstruction. Therefore, some surgeons perform routine concomitant cholecystectomy during standard surgery for gastric malignancies. However, not all the patients who are diagnosed to have cholelithiasis after gastric cancer surgery will develop symptoms or require additional surgical treatments and a standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy is feasible even in those patients who underwent previous gastric surgery.