Agenesis of Gall Bladder: A Case Report

Background: Agenesis of the gall bladder is a rare condition, majority of which are usually diagnosed during intraoperative procedure because of low incidence of suspicion and high rate of false positive results for cholecystitis on ultrasound imaging.

Methodology: A 25 years old female patient presented with right upper quadrant pain, whose clinical features and abdominal ultrasound suggested chronic calculous cholecystitis. After pre-operative evaluation and preparation, she was planned for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Results: The patient underwent elective operative intervention on 17th June 2023. Intra-operatively, the liver and the extra-hepatic biliary tree were thoroughly inspected, but no gall bladder was detected anywhere in the undersurface of the liver. Decision was made to stop the procedure avoiding any further exploration thereof. Post-operatively the patient was subjected to magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), which confirmed agenesis of gall bladder.

Conclusion: The accuracy of abdominal ultra-sonography (USG) in the diagnosis of gall bladder disease is only 97% and a second USG screening or MRCP has got a definite role to play in doubtful cases.