Bile duct injuries or vasculobiliary injuries are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, decreased quality of life, as well as medicolegal implications hence the importance of safe cholecystectomy cannot be over-emphasized. Bile duct injury rates are significantly higher in the laparoscopic management of higher grades of acute cholecystitis. To ensure ‘safe cholecystectomy’ surgeons must always be intuitively aware of situations that can make a basic laparoscopic procedure become a difficult operation. It is instructive to note that subtotal cholecystectomy could be an effective bailout strategy in difficult gall bladder surgeries.