Publication:

Gallbladder agenesis diagnosed intraoperatively complicated by common hepatic duct injury

Gallbladder agenesis is a rare congenital anomaly among biliary abnormalities, and its preoperative diagnosis has been considered very difficult. Gallbladder agenesis becomes symptomatic in almost 23% of cases mostly with symptoms mimicking biliary colic, which is poorly understood. Initial workup for suspected gallbladder diseases, such as abdominal ultrasound, can be misleading or inconclusive. Often it is misinterpreted as other diseases leading to unnecessary surgery. We reported a case of a 31-year-old Bahraini male presenting with recurrent symptoms, suggesting biliary colic. Abdominal ultrasound showed False-positive contracted gallbladder. The patient was then taken to the operative theater for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Intraoperatively, the gallbladder could not be seen, and eventually the decision was made to converted to open surgery which was complicated by common hepatic duct injury. Gallbladder agenesis was confirmed postoperatively by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).