Abstract
A 35-year-old woman was admitted with a complaint of right hypochondralgia. Six months ago, she had had hemobilia due to liver biopsy for chronic hepatitis and undergone transcatheter arterial embolization for hemostasis. Computed tomography and ultrasonography on admission revealed swelling of the gallbladder and high density mass highly suggestive of blood clots in the gallbladder. Based on the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis caused by blood clots in the gallbladder, we performed cholecystectomy. In recent years, the incidence of hemobilia has increased because the technique of liver biopsy and percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage has become widely used. Blood clots in the gallbladder are frequently observed associated with hemobilia (71.4%), and usually disappear within 2 months. However, in the case of poor gallbladder function, blood clots remain in the gallbladder and sometimes may cause acute cholecystitis. We therefore must take care to check the blood clots in the gallbladder after hemobilia.
