---- Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Diseases International (HBPD INT), the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 79 Qingchun Road, Hangzhou 310003, China.
Thrombosis of gallbladder vein presenting as acute peritonitis
Chun-Lin Ge, Xiao-Guang Luo and Yong-Feng Liu
Shenyang, China
Author Affiliations: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China (Ge CL, Luo XG and Liu YF)
Corresponding Author: Yong-Feng Liu, Professor, Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China (Tel: 86-24-83283299; Email: chunlinge@yahoo.com.cn)
BACKGROUND: Thrombosis of the gallbladder vein occurs rarely, and few clinical features have been reported. We report here with a case of gallbladder vein thrombosis presenting as acute peritonitis in a 75-year-old man.
METHODS: The old man with sudden continuous abdominal pain resorted to the emergency room and treated for peritonitis associated with acute cholecystitis. The treatment failed to slow the progress of the disease, and massive ascites appeared with thickening of the gallbladder wall. Laparotomic investigation was conducted later.
RESULT: Pathologically, thrombosis of the gallbladder vein was diagnosed.
CONCLUSIONS: The thrombosis of the gallbladder vein is characterized by thickening of the gallbladder wall, ascites, and sudden continuous abdominal pain. The causes of deep vein thrombosis at this unusual site vary.
(Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int 2010; 9: 100-102)
KEY WORDS: thrombosis; gallbladder vein; deep vein thrombosis
