Introduction:

spontaneous gallbladder perforation is a rare complication of gallbladder pathologies, it’s seen in approximately 2% with mortality risk reported between 12-42%. If a secondary hepatic abscess is associated is even a less frequent complication.

Material and methods:

55 year old woman, who visits the emergency room referring approximately a month with abdominal pain which irradiates to the inter-scapular region. Laboratory tests reported elevated leukocytes, alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyl transferase. The contrasted abdominal CT showed a gallbladder with impacted biliary calculus, as well as an intrahepatic rupture of the gallbladder associated to a hepatic abscess.

Results:

a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, abscess drainage and intraabdominal drain placement was carried out. We used four laparoscopic trocars. We found a Parkland 5 gallbladder and a hepatic abscess in segments IV and V. The surgical piece was extracted with an extracting bag and 19 Fr drains were placed to Winslow hiatus and the abscess cavity.

Conclusions:

gallbladder perforation with a secondary formation of a hepatic abscess is a very rare complication. It represents a diagnostic challenge, though due to recent diagnostic tools, prompt diagnosis is a possibility.