A Case of Gallbladder Torsion Diagnosed Preoperatively and Treated with Single Incision Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Abstract

A 95-year-old man visited a local doctor with right hypochondrium pain and was referred to our hospital with a suspected strangulated small bowel obstruction. Contrast-enhanced abdominal CT revealed a massively distended gallbladder and loss of enhancement of the gallbladder wall. Abdominal MRI revealed beak-like stenosis of the cystic duct. We diagnosed gallbladder torsion and performed emergency single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The gallbladder was in a gangrenous state and was twisted clockwise by 270°. The patient was discharged on the 2nd postoperative day without any complications. In most cases, inflammation associated with gallbladder torsion is milder than typical cholecystitis and we can thus often perform an operation easily. If we can diagnose gallbladder torsion preoperatively, we can safely perform single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy.