Gallbladder Carcinoma Presenting as Xanthogranulomatous Cholecystitis -Report of a Case-

Kotaro Matsumoto, Shuji Simizu, Koji Yamaguchi, Kazuo Chijiiwa, Masaki Takashima*, Masao Tanaka

Department of Surgery I and The Second Department of Pathology*, Kyushu University Faculty of Medicine

A 65-year-old Japanese man presented with right hypochondrial pain. Ultrasonography detected a 5 cm heterogeneous mass in the fundus of the expanded gallbladder. Abdominal computed tomography showed the mass infiltrating to the surrounding tissue and angiography demonstrated the mass as a hypervascular lesion. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography showed complete occlusion of the cystic duct. Extended cholecystectomy was performed under the tentative diagnosis of gallbladder fundal carcinoma. Macroscopically, the resected specimen showed a mass in the fundus and an irregular small mass in the neck of the gallbladder. An intraoperative frozen section revealed that the fundic mass was xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC) and the tumor in the neck was well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Extrahepatic bile duct resection was performed together with radical lymph node dissection. We report this case of gallbladder neck carcinoma presenting as xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, briefly discussing the differential diagnosis between XGC and gallbladder carcinoma and the relationship of the two conditions.

Key words
xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, gallbladder carcinoma

Reprint requests
Kotaro Matsumoto Department of Surgery, Shinkokura Hospital
1-3-1 Kanada, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, 803-0816 JAPAN

Accepted
September 16, 1998

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