Gall Bladder Agenesis: An Incidental Intraoperative Finding in a Case of Stab Injury

TL;DR

A rare case of gall bladder agenesis was discovered during surgery for a stab injury, highlighting the importance of noting such anomalies.

Contribution

The paper presents a rare clinical case of gall bladder agenesis identified intraoperatively in a trauma patient.

Findings

Gall bladder agenesis was diagnosed incidentally during surgery for abdominal stab injuries.

Post-operative imaging confirmed the absence of the gall bladder and cystic duct.

The case underscores the need to document anatomical anomalies to aid future diagnosis.

Abstract

Agenesis of the gall bladder is extremely rare. Three types of gall bladder agenesis have been described. The asymptomatic type is diagnosed incidentally on imaging, intraoperatively, or at autopsy. Symptomatic patients present with clinical features such as biliary colic, usually in the 4th and 5th decades. The third type presents in neonatal life along with multiple fetal anomalies.

We present a case of a 43-year-old male who presented to our trauma casualty with a history of multiple stab injuries to the abdomen. There was no history of previous abdominal surgery. An ultrasonography and computed tomography of the abdomen showed the absence of the gall bladder. Intraoperatively, there were multiple, through-and-through bowel perforations with no evidence of other organ injury. The gall bladder and cystic duct were absent, and the same was confirmed on a post-operative magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.

This article emphasizes the importance of seeking and documenting incidental anatomical anomalies such as gall bladder agenesis to avoid difficulties in diagnosis if related symptoms arise in the future.

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