Case Report

Chronic gallbladder wall thickening: Is it always malignancy?

Anjuna Reghunath, Suchana Kushvaha, Rohini G. Ghasi, Geetika Khanna, Apurva Surana
South African Journal of Radiology | Vol 24, No 1 | a1844 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajr.v24i1.1844 | © 2020 Anjuna Reghunath, Suchana Kushvaha, Rohini G. Ghasi, Geetika Khanna, Apurva Surana | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 29 December 2019 | Published: 18 May 2020

About the author(s)

Anjuna Reghunath, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India
Suchana Kushvaha, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India
Rohini G. Ghasi, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India
Geetika Khanna, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India
Apurva Surana, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India

Abstract

Gallbladder wall thickening, associated with features like perforation, fistula formation and invasion of adjacent organs, is often assumed to be malignant. Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC) causes gallbladder wall thickening with similar aggressive features and closely mimics gallbladder carcinoma clinically, radiologically and surgically. Differentiating between these two is crucial for management as misdiagnosis of gallbladder cancer can lead to unnecessary radical surgery. We report a case of chronic gallbladder wall thickening, initially suspected to be malignant, but subsequently diagnosed as XGC.

Keywords

xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis; gallbladder cancer; ultrasound; computed tomography; magnetic resonance imaging.

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