Primary hydatid cyst of the gallbladder: a case report

Echinococcosis, or hydatid disease, is endemic in some regions of the world, and has been a common pathology of surgical wards in Kosovo. Primary hydatid cyst of the gallbladder is an unusual and very rare localization of hydatid disease. So far, only five cases that fulfill the criteria of primary gallbladder hydatidosis have been published in the English medical literature.

We report a case of a 39-year-old Kosovan Albanian woman referred to the Abdominal Surgery Division of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo for "a calcified hydatid cyst of the liver with gallbladder involvement". Her history was significant for chronic right upper quadrant pain, characterized as intermittently colicky pain, accompanied by nausea. The patient underwent right subcostal laparotomy. Intra-operatively, a calcified primary hydatid cyst of the gallbladder was found. Its pericyst was tightly attached to the liver. Complete pericystectomy with cholecystectomy followed. The histopathology confirmed the presence of calcified hydatid cyst of the gallbladder, and that the cyst had developed entirely extra-mucosally. Five year follow-up showed no recurrence of disease.

Primary hydatid cyst of the gallbladder is a very rare clinical entity. Accurate preoperative diagnostic localization is not always easy, particularly in centers with limited diagnostic tools.