Abstract
Introduction
Developmental abnormalities of the gallbladder are relatively rare. Although often asymptomatic, agenesis of the gallbladder can present symptoms, such as dyspepsia, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, intolerance to fatty foods, and so on. It has been reported to be associated with gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, genitourinary, and skeletal malformations. We report a case of a patient who was a candidate for cholecystectomy for suspected sclerotic and atrophic gallbladder.
During laparoscopy it was diagnosed as hypoplasia/agenesis of the gallbladder. Isolated agenesis of the gallbladder is a rare congenital anomaly that results from failure of the cystic bud to develop in utero. Since its first description by Lemery in 1701, a number of cases have been published, with a reported incidence of 0.01---0.06%.1 Combined with the rarity of the condition, the diagnosis is infrequently made preoperatively, and so the patient undergoes unnecessary operative intervention. Intraopera-tively, the risk of iatrogenic injury is higher, and so the associated morbidity of the procedure is greater.2
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DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i4.215
