Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and abdominal CT scan in preoperative evaluation of surgical difficulty in patients with gallstones and cholecystitis. Methods A total of consecutive 102 patients with gallstones and cholecystitis were encountered in our hospital between January 2022 and June 2024, and all underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Prior to operation, all patients received MRCP and abdominal CT scan. Operation difficulty was evaluated according to literature report, and readability of cystic arteries and cystic ducts were assessed based on imaging. Results Of the 102 patients with gallstones and cholecystitis, the imaging showed types of cystic arteries weretypeⅠa in 81 cases, type Ⅰb in 9 cases, type Ⅱa in 5 cases and type Ⅱb in 7 cases, with normal shape in 81 cases (79.4%), and abnormal in 21 cases (20.6%); the imaging also showed normal cystic duct shape in 85 cases (83.3%) and abnormal in 17 cases (16.7%);the scores of gallbladder artery display and gallbladder duct display in24 patients with surgical difficulty as assessed pre-operationally were (1.3±0.3) points and (1.4±0.3)points, both significantly lower than [(1.6±0.3) points and (1.7±0.3)points, respectively, P＜0.05] in 78 patients with operation easily, while the gallbladder wall thickness, gallbladder volume and stone diameter were (10.1±2.3)mm, (53.2±8.3)mm³ and (18.2±3.3)mm, all significantly greater than [(7.5±2.1)mm, (46.4±7.1)mm³ and (14.4±5.1)mm, respectively, P＜0.05] in easy operation group. Conclusion MRCP and abdominal CT scan could clearly display anatomic structure around gallbladder artery and cystic duct, which might help evaluate pre-operationally LCdifficulty in patients with gallstones and cholecystitis.

Key words: Gallstone, Cholecystitis, Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, Abdominal CT scan, Preoperative evaluation