Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Pathology, Obstruction / Occlusion, Fistula, Surgery, Drainage, Cholangiography, Ultrasound, MR, CT, Gastrointestinal tract, Biliary Tract / Gallbladder, Abdomen
Authors:
A. O. Quiroz-Casian1, J. F. Santoscoy Gutierrez2, M. Santoscoy3, P. Castillo2, M. Goyenechea1, V. J. Casillas1; 1Miami/US, 2Miami, FL/US, 3Distrito federal, df/MX
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2018/C-2422
Background
The gallbladder and the biliary tract are subject to a wide variety of pathologies secondary to congenital,
calculous,
infectious,
inflammatory,
traumatic,
neoplastic and iatrogenic causes.
Most patients will have a similar clinical presentation that consists mainly of abdominal pain,
jaundice and fever.
The overlap of signs and symptoms can lead to a delayed in diagnosis and treatment,
increasing the incidence of complications.
To evaluate such pathologies,
we often require a multimodality imaging approach.
Abdominal ultrasound (US) is often the first used imaging study due to its wide availability and low cost.
Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) are commonly performed next,
due to their higher diagnostic accuracy,
particularly MR cholangiography (MRCP).
In this exhibit,
we present a series of unusual cases of gallbladder and biliary tract pathology from our institution.
An adequate understanding of the pathophysiology and key imaging findings of these conditions is necessary for making the correct diagnosis and providing an adequate treatment.