A pictorial review of gall stones and its associated complications

Abstract

Gallstone disease is the term commonly used to refer to gallstones that cause symptoms. There is a myriad of complications that can arise from gallstones: acute cholecystitis, xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, emphysematous cholecystitis, gallbladder wall perforations, pericholecystic abscesses, Mirizzi syndrome, cholecystoenteric fistulas, choledocholithiasis, gallstone pancreatitis, porcelain gallbladder, gallbladder malignancies, and many more. The aim of this pictorial review is to revisit how multimodality imaging can help with the diagnosis of gallstone disease. We review the classic imaging findings on different imaging modalities for gallstone disease and its associated complications and how it is useful in early diagnosis for timely management of complications as well as surgical planning.

Keywords: Cholelithiasis; Gallstone; Gallstone ileus; Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP); Porcelain gallbladder.