[Cholecystitis associated with milk of calcium] ]

Milk of calcium cholecystitis is a rare disease predominantely of adults. The term designates a pathologic accumulation of calcium carbonate in the gallbladder, much rarer in the common bile duct as well. The patient may be symptom-free. If present the symptoms may be very mild or as an acute biliary pain, transient jaundice and mild attack of pancreatitis. Calcium in the bile may be liquid or it may form a paste-like mass. Both may be seen on a plain X-ray of the abdomen. The stone or stones of calcium carbonate may be formed so that they may cause an obstruction of the gallbladder outflow tract or cystic duct or pass into the common bile duct or into the duodenum. [figure: see text] We present a 71 year old male who was admitted for inguinal hernia repair but in whom a mild hiperbilirubinaemia was found and then on ultrasonography a gallbladder stone was diagnosed. We performed a hernia repair as well as cholecystectomy and operative cholangiography which turn to be normal. Within an almost normal gallbladder a gray-whitesh paste-like mass was found composed of calcium carbonate. The postoperative recovery was uneventful and serum bilirubin become normal. Histology of gallbladder showed chronic nonspecific cholecystitis.