Torsion of the gallbladder

Abstract

The authors report a case of a 79-year-old female who presented with signs and symptoms of acute cholecystitis. She was taken to theatre within 24 h of acute admission to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The gallbladder was found to have undergone torsion upon its mesentery leading to its infarction and necrosis. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed, and the patient made an uneventful recovery.

Torsion of the gallbladder: a preoperative diagnosis

“…Torsion of the gallbladder is a rare entity with approximately 500 cases reported in the literature since its first description by Wendel in 1898. It primarily affects elderly women between their sixth and eighth decades of life, though it has been reported in patients anywhere between the ages of 5 days and 100 years . Incidence appears to be increasing due to increasing life expectancy .…”

“…Few of these patients have jaundice and the majority have non‐specific inflammatory changes on blood work . Diagnosis of gallbladder torsion most often occurs at the time of operation and preoperative diagnosis is rare . Ten cases of preoperative diagnosis with CT of gallbladder torsion have been reported in the literature with at least three cases utilizing additional imaging modalities to establish the diagnosis.…”