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Massive hemobilia and acalculous cholecystites due to benign gallbaldder polyp

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Summary

A 37-year-old male with metachromatic leukodystrophy, a congenital cerebroside storage disease strongly associated with benign gallbladder polyps, presented with hemobilia and acalculous cholecystitis due to a long, slender, benign gallbladder polyp. This case report extends the clinical spectrum of gallbladder polyps and demonstrates a novel cause of hemobilia. The unusually long, slender polyp shape may have promoted hemorrhage due to the potential for torsion around a slender stalk. The mechanism of cholecystitis may have been cystic duct obstruction from blood clots or possibly from prolapse by the long, slender polyp into the cystic duct.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson (formerly Rutgers) Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey

    Mitchell S. Cappell MD, PhD (Director), Michael Marks MD & Hyman Kirschenbaum MD

  2. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Brookdate Hospital Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York

    Mitchell S. Cappell MD, PhD (Director), Michael Marks MD & Hyman Kirschenbaum MD

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  1. Mitchell S. Cappell MD, PhD
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  2. Michael Marks MD
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Cappell, M.S., Marks, M. & Kirschenbaum, H. Massive hemobilia and acalculous cholecystites due to benign gallbaldder polyp. Digest Dis Sci 38, 1156–1161 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01295736

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