Left-sided gallbladder: an incidental finding on laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Transposition of the gallbladder to the left side without situs inversus viscerum is rare. These gallbladders are situated under the left lobe of the liver between Segment III and IV or on Segment III to the left of the falciform ligament. This is a report of a 50-year-old woman who was admitted to our department with a history of pain in her right upper abdomen. The physical examination showed tenderness in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen without a Murphy's sign. Abdominal ultrasonography showed gall bladder stones without dilatation of the bile ducts. The patient underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the French position and four ports positioned as usual. We discovered a left-sided gallbladder located on the left of the round ligament. The gallbladder was excised as usual. Intraoperative cholangiogram showed neither dilatation of the bile ducts nor associated congenital anomalies of the biliary tree. The patient was discharged on the first postoperative day. Because routine preoperative examinations may not detect the anomaly, the latter may take surgeons by surprise during laparoscopy. Awareness of the unpredictable confluence of the cystic duct into the common bile duct and selective use of intraoperative cholangiography both contributed to the safe laparoscopic management of this unusual problem.