Chronic granulomatous cholecystitis: a clinicopathological study of 17 cases

In a clinicopathological study of 376 cases of gall bladder diseases, chronic granulomatous cholecystitis was diagnosed in 17 specimens (4.52%). All these cases presented with pain in the right hypochondrium and a non-functioning gall bladder. Besides cholegranulomas and xanthogranulomas, 5 cases presented with localised yellowish brown areas in the wall of the gall bladder which revealed on histology proliferation of histiocytes containing abundant granular brown pigment (as seen in ceroid granulomas), intermingled with lymphocytes, plasma cells and occasional foreign body giant cells. The average age of the patients was 41.3 years. Cholelithiasis was present in 12 cases (70.6%). In one case the gall bladder was bilocular, having granulomatous lesion on one side of the septum and papillary adenocarcinoma on the other side.