[Acute pseudoabdomen and mitral stenosis. A clinical report of a very unique case]

Acute alithiasic cholecystitis is uncommon and often secondary to other pathologies. The authors report the case of a patient with mitral valvulopathy which had not been diagnosed until the onset of clinical symptoms of acute cholecystitis, confirmed by abdominal ultrasonography. Emergency cholecystectomy was chosen as the most suitable form of surgery, although the authors were "unaware" of the real circumstances: in hindsight it may be said that emergency surgery eliminated the risk of infective complications which might have led to a general deterioration of the patient's conditions already jeopardized by cardiac disorders. Hepatic biopsy performed during the course of the operation enabled the hepatic situation to be clarified with stenosis caused by impeded venous return to the heart.