Xanthogranulomatous Cholecystitis Masquerading As Gallbladder Cancer: A Diagnostic Dilemma

Abstract

Faten Limaiem, Beya Chelly, Sadri Ben Abid, Emna Boudabous, Ahlem Lahmar,Saâdia Bouraoui, Sabeh Mzabi-Regaya

Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis is an uncommon variant of chronic cholecystitis, characterized by marked thickening of the gallbladder wall and dense local adhesions that may be confused with a malignant process. In this paper, the authors report a new case of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis in a 63-year-old female patient that was misdiagnosed per-operatively as gallbladder cancer and treated with extensive excision. The common imaging techniques are not always able to differentiate xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis from gallbladder cancer and the final diagnosis is usually established by histological examination of the resected specimen. This entity should be kept in mind in difficult cholecystectomy cases.