Gallbladder disease in the young male

Eighteen of 2,614 patients undergoing cholecystectomy in two large general hospitals were males between the ages of two and twenty years. The great majority presented with a typical symptoms of cholecystitis. Ten of the eighteen had idiopathic cholelithiasis, with no predisposing factors generally associated with an increased incidence of this disease. This diagnosis must be kept in mind in dealing with patients of this age group.