V-shaped gallbladder duplication: a rare entity to be known

A 67-year-old asymptomatic Caucasian woman was referred for a routine check-up. Abdominal ultrasound revealed two pear-shaped structures in the gallbladder bed, the lateral of them presenting inside numerous small stones, whereas the medial one no presented sludge/stones or alterations on thickness. MRCP confirmed two ovalar high-signal-intensity structures in the gallbladder fossa: the lateral structure contains multiple gallstones, whereas the medial one shows a communication with cystic duct; a progressive contrast filling process is clearly depicted in the hepatobiliary phase (Panels A-G). The final diagnosis was V-shaped gallbladder duplication with both cavities separated toward the fundus and fused at the base with a single common cystic duct. It is likely that, for anatomical reasons, the lateral gallbladder found itself in an unfavorable condition that led to the formation of the stones for biliary stasis and difficulty of emptying. Prophylactic cholecystectomy in the absence of symptoms is not recommended and a follow-up was advised.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Stefano Palmucci, MD, radiologist at the Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania and Noemi Ognibene, MD, fellow in radiology for their help in images interpretation and final diagnosis.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Informed Consent: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this manuscript and any accompanying images.