A Case Report on Prenatally Diagnosed Congenital Agenesis of the Gallbladder: Diagnosis and Treatment Efficacy

Abstract

This chapter reports a case of gallbladder agenesis that was diagnosed in a male neonate in the intrauterine period at 26+3 weeks on prenatal ultrasonography (USG). This case report will help to manage patients who have no gallbladder. Congenital agenesis of the gallbladder is a rare malformation of the biliary system. The etiology of the development of gallbladder agenesis is not fully known; malformation during embryonic development is considered its main cause. Although gallbladder agenesis detected in adults during surgery has been reported many times, prenatally diagnosed gallbladder agenesis has rarely been reported. In most cases, the gallbladder is visualized on a follow-up USG performed prenatally or after birth, even if the gallbladder is not seen once during prenatal USG. However, the gallbladder of our patient was not visualized in the USG after birth either. Therefore, a hepatobiliary scan and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) were performed to find the gallbladder; however, the gallbladder was not detected.