Abstract

Background: Gall bladder perforation presents in various forms with the most common being peritonitis. The most common causes include gall stones obstructing the cystic duct and necrosis of gall bladder due to ischemia.
Case Presentation: A 19-year-old female presented to the emergency department of East Surgical Ward of Mayo Hospital Lahore, Pakistan, with a history of abdominal distension for 4 months for which she was counseled because of pregnancy. She gave birth to healthy baby 1 month prior, but abdominal distension did not resolve. On examination, she had a distended and tender abdomen with visible striae. She was tachycardiac with a pulse rate of 124 per minute and blood pressure of 110/80 mmHg. Fluid cytology showed negative for malignant cells and total leukocyte count of 17 × 109 /l. Abdominal ultrasound showed a huge thick-walled cystic area with internal echoes measuring 31 × 19 × 19 cm with total amount of fluid volume in the cyst was approximately 5 l arising from the right hypochondrium. On opening the abdomen, a huge cyst was encountered extending from the epigastrium to the pelvis with dense adhesions. The cyst was opened and fluid aspirated. Communication between cyst was found with gall bladder in the epigastrium. The cyst wall was excised partially, and cholecystectomy carried out. The patient was discharged on 5th post-operative day.
Conclusion: The development of thick-walled huge cyst within abdominal cavity after gall bladder perforation is a rare entity, especially when the patient had gone through full-term pregnancy with the presence of the cyst.

Key words: Case report, gall bladder, perforation, cyst, pregnancy, fistula.