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Case Reports
. 2017 Dec 7:5:2050313X17744979.
doi: 10.1177/2050313X17744979. eCollection 2017.

The liver and Chilaiditi's syndrome: Significance of hepatic surface grooves

Shamir O Cawich  1 , Richard Spence  1 , Fawwaz Mohammed  1 , Michael T Gardner  1 , Alex Sinanan  1 , Vijay Naraynsingh  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

The liver and Chilaiditi's syndrome: Significance of hepatic surface grooves

Shamir O Cawich et al. SAGE Open Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Chilaiditi's syndrome describes a symptomatic patient with radiographic findings of interposed colon between the diaphragm and right lobe of liver. It may mimic a pneumoperitoneum on plain radiographs. We present a case in which Chilaiditis' syndrome was entertained, delaying a decision for laparotomy. This case reinforces the diagnostic difficulty associated with Chilaiditi's syndrome, and it increases awareness of an uncommon variation in the liver surface anatomy.

Keywords: Chilaiditi; Liver; diaphragm; grooves; slips; syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Erect plain chest radiograph demonstrating air beneath the right hemidiaphragm. However, there are also what appear to be haustra that contain the air, mimicking Chilaiditi’s sign.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Intra-operative view of the right sub-diaphragmatic space during laparoscopic exploration in the same patient. There are well-developed diaphragmatic slips seen and corresponding hepatic grooves on the surface of the right liver (arrows). Free bilious fluid is also seen in the sub-diaphragmatic space.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Laparoscopic exploration has revealed a perforated peptic ulcer as the source of contamination and a true pneumoperitoneum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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