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Acupuncture, a well-established traditional medical practice in East Asia, is rarely associated with complications associated with broken needles. A 45-year-old woman had received acupuncture treatment 3 months before presentation to relieve back pain and complained of persistent epigastric pain. Radiological studies revealed chronic cholecystitis with stones and a broken acupuncture needle in the pancreatic head. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy and foreign body removal were performed, and the patient recovered quickly during a short hospital stay. We confirm that a needle found in the pancreas can usually be safely removed with minimally invasive surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ectopic pancreatic tissue (EPT) is a rare condition in which pancreatic tissue is situated outside its normal position. It is commonly found in the stomach and small bowel, typically asymptomatic, and is usually discovered incidentally during histopathological analysis. Although fewer than 40 cases of ectopic pancreatic tissue in the gallbladder have been reported, its significance relies on the risk of malignant transformation, highlighting the need for a thorough pathological study. This case report describes the presence of EPT in the gallbladder incidentally found during the pathological examination following a laparoscopic cholecystectomy of a 37-year-old female due to chronic cholecystitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyalinizing cholecystitis is a rare subtype of chronic cholecystitis in which the gallbladder tissue is replaced with hyaline sclerosis, more or less, and has a characteristic intraoperative appearance. Preoperative diagnosis is hard to establish. The entity is strongly associated with gallbladder carcinoma. Therefore, the pathologist should perform a thorough microscopic analysis. We present a case of an unusual intraoperative finding in a male patient with chronic cholecystitis which was proved to be a hyalinizing cholecystitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 53-year-old man with previous history of sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma who had undergone surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy presented with slightly rising carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), while anatomical imaging modalities were unremarkable. FDG PET-CT study did not identify residual tumoral disease; however, there were abnormalities in the gallbladder most likely suggestive of cholecystitis. Eight weeks after cholecystectomy, serum CEA concentration reached normal values. Final histopathology of the gallbladder was also consistent with acute on chronic cholecystitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe a sporadic form of lymphoplasmacytic cholecystitis (LPC), a condition known to occur in patients with chronic biliary tract disease. Methods: One year's worth of cholecystectomies was reviewed for sporadic cases of LPC. Histologic, radiologic, and clinical findings were reviewed and compared with noninflamed controls. Sporadic cases were also compared histologically with obstructive LPC cases. Results: Sporadic LPC made up 7% of cholecystectomies, had a male predominance (54.2%), and more often presented with clinical signs of acute inflammation compared with controls. Radiologic findings identified gallstones in 71.4% of patients. The second most common finding was unexplained extrahepatic biliary dilation. There were no unique histologic findings to separate sporadic cases from those associated with pancreatobiliary disease. Conclusions: While obstructive LPC is traditionally described as acalculous, chronic cholecystitis, we show this inflammatory pattern occurs both in the presence of gallstones and outside of previously described disease categories. In addition, LPC occurs in a unique patient demographic (older men), often presenting similarly to acute cholecystitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 83-year-old lady with no previous history of gallstones, presented with a sudden-onset severe epigastric pain radiating through to the back associated with nausea and vomiting. On examination, the patient's vital signs were normal. There was severe epigastric tenderness on palpation, as well as moderate right upper quadrant tenderness. Serological investigations showed raised inflammatory markers and serum lipase of 13 000, confirming the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Liver function tests were mildly deranged with a normal bilirubin of 12 μmol/L. An abdominal ultrasound demonstrated a distended gallbladder with multiple subcentimeter gallstones and diffuse wall thickening up to 7 mm, consistent with cholecystitis. A follow-up CT abdomen demonstrated evidence of pancreatitis with moderate peripancreatic fat stranding. The diagnosis of concomitant acute cholecystitis and gallstone pancreatitis was made based on the radiological and biochemical findings. The patient underwent an uncomplicated laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The histopathology confirmed cholelithiasis with acute on chronic cholecystitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]