Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2025 May:130:111274.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2025.111274. Epub 2025 Apr 9.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy for a gallstone within an intrahepatic gallbladder: A case report in Abidjan

Auguste Alexandre Adon  1 , Marius Kouidé Goho  2 , Kouassi Henry Noel Ahue  3 , Gustave Aboua  3 , Ngolo Adama Coulibaly  4 , Kunka Jocelyne Kpan  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy for a gallstone within an intrahepatic gallbladder: A case report in Abidjan

Auguste Alexandre Adon et al. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2025 May.

Abstract

Introduction: The intrahepatic location of the gallbladder is one of the most common ectopic locations of the gallbladder. An intrahepatic gallbladder often exhibits impaired function, which may lead to stasis and gallstone formation. Given the surgical complexities associated with this ectopic location, the traditional open approach is usually employed.

Case report: The authors report the case of a 52-year-old female patient who consulted for pain in the right hypochondrium. Physical examination revealed only right upper quadrant pain on palpation. Abdominal ultrasound revealed gallbladder lithiasis without indicating the presence of an anatomical anomaly. A laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in the "French position" with 4 trocars. During surgery, we discovered an intrahepatic gallbladder. Subserosal dissection of the gallbladder was done without having to perform a hepatotomy. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 2 without any complications.

Discussion: Intra hepatic location of gallbladder is rare and can be detected by ultrasound or CT scan but in our study, it has not been detected by ultrasound before operation. Laparoscopic approach for a gallstone within ectopic gallbladder is rarely described in literature because cholecystectomy by conventional route is preferred when this anomaly is known and mostly when gallbladder is completely embedded within the liver.

Conclusion: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains the gold standard for a partial intrahepatic gallbladder.

Keywords: Case report; Ectopic gallbladder; Intrahepatic gallbladder; Laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement We declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Hepatobiliary ultrasound.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Intra hepatic gallbladder.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Dissection of Calot's triangle.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mathis R., Stodghill J., Shaver T., Younan G. Cholecystectomy of an intrahepatic gallbladder in an ectopic pelvic liver: a case report and review of the literature. Epub. Oct 31 2017;2017(1):1–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee F.M., Wong J., Ks Haghighi. Hiding in pain sight: an unusual case of intra hepatic gallbladder. J. Clin. Images Med. Case Rep. 2025;6(1):3410.
    1. Sohrabi C., Mathew G., Maria N., Kerwan A., Franchi T., Agha R.A. The SCARE 2023 guideline: updating consensus Surgical CAse REport (SCARE) guidelines. Int. J. Surg. Lond. Engl. 2023;109(5):1136. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Segura-Sampedro J.J., Navarro-Sánchez A., Ashrafian H., Martínez-Isla A. Laparoscopic approach to the intrahepatic gallbladder. A case report. Rev. Esp. Enferm. Dig. Feb 2015;107(2):122–123. (PMID: 25659400) - PubMed
    1. Audi P., Noronha F., Rodrigues J. Intrahepatic gallbladder — a case report and review of literature. The Internet J. Surg. 2009;24(1)

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources