Valenti MR, Cavallaro A, Di Vita M, Zanghi A, Longo Trischitta G, Cappellani A. Gallbladder hemorrhage–An uncommon surgical emergency: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(27): 9734-9742 [PMID: 36186197 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i27.9734]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Andrea Cavallaro, MD, PhD, Associate Research Scientist, Doctor, Medical Assistant, Surgeon, Surgical Oncologist, Teaching Assistant, Department of Surgery, University of Catania Medical School, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, Catania 95123, Italy. andreacavallaro@tiscali.it
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2022; 10(27): 9734-9742 Published online Sep 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i27.9734
Gallbladder hemorrhage–An uncommon surgical emergency: A case report
Maria Rosaria Valenti, Andrea Cavallaro, Maria Di Vita, Antonio Zanghi, Giovanni Longo Trischitta, Alessandro Cappellani
Maria Rosaria Valenti, Andrea Cavallaro, Maria Di Vita, Antonio Zanghi, Giovanni Longo Trischitta, Alessandro Cappellani, Department of Surgery, University of Catania Medical School, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy
Author contributions: All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report no relevant conflict of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the Care Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Andrea Cavallaro, MD, PhD, Associate Research Scientist, Doctor, Medical Assistant, Surgeon, Surgical Oncologist, Teaching Assistant, Department of Surgery, University of Catania Medical School, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, Catania 95123, Italy. andreacavallaro@tiscali.it
Received: May 10, 2021 Peer-review started: May 10, 2021 First decision: June 5, 2021 Revised: June 14, 2021 Accepted: June 30, 2022 Article in press: June 30, 2022 Published online: September 26, 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Gallbladder hemorrhage is a life-threatening disorder. Trauma (accidental or iatrogenic such as a percutaneous biopsy or cholecystectomy surgery), cholelithiasis, biliary tract parasitosis, vasculitis, vascular malformations, autoimmune and neoplastic diseases and coagulopathies have been described as causes of hemorrhage within the lumen of the gallbladder. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anticoagulants may represent a risk factor.
CASE SUMMARY
We report the case of a 76-year-old male patient. An urgent contrast computed tomography scan demonstrated relevant distension of the gallbladder filled with hyperdense non-homogeneous content. The gallbladder walls were of regular thickness. Near the anterior wall a focus of suspected active bleeding was observed. Due to the progressive decrease in hemoglobin despite three blood transfusions, this was an indication for urgent surgery.
CONCLUSION
Early diagnosis of this potentially fatal pathology is essential in order to plan a strategy and eventually proceed with urgent surgical treatment.
Core Tip: Gallbladder hemorrhage is an uncommon life-threatening disorder. There are many causes of this condition: trauma, cholelithiasis, biliary tract parasitosis, vasculitis, vascular malformations, autoimmune and neoplastic diseases and coagulopathies. We report the case of a 76-year-old male patient. An urgent contrast computed tomography scan demonstrated relevant distension of the gallbladder filled with hyperdense non-homogeneous content and a focus of suspected active bleeding. The patient underwent urgent surgery to stop the hemorrhage. Early diagnosis of this insidious and potentially fatal pathology is essential to plan the best treatment strategy for patients.
