Porcelain gallbladder

Porcelain gallbladder is a calcification of the gallbladder believed to be brought on by excessive gallstones but more studies are necessary to determine the exact cause.

Diagnosis
Patients are usually asymptomatic, and porcelain gallbladder is found incidentally on plain abdominal radiographs, sonograms, or CT images.

Porcelain gallbladder often results in a diagnosis of gallbladder cancer. The association with the two is uncertain; gallbladder cancer is rare, but is almost always found with porcelain gallbladder. The prognosis is poor, in that the gallbladder is usually asymptomatic until the cancer has spread. It is predominantly found in overweight female patients of middle age. Symptoms can include abdominal pain (especially after eating), jaundice, and vomiting.

Ultrasonography
(Images courtesy of RadsWiki)

Computed Tomography
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Treatment
If porcelain gallbladder is found very early before symptoms present (such as during a surgery or incidental during other diagnostic studies), the gallbladder can be removed and the chances for recovery are very good.

Surgical treatment of porcelain gallbladder is based on results from studies performed in 1931 and 1962, which revealed an association between porcelain gallbladder and gallbladder adenocarcinoma (22% of porcelain gallbladders will develop gallbladder adenocarcinoma).