Incidental follicular cholecystitis with periductal fibrosis on liver biopsy: Rare findings

Follicular cholecystitis (FC) is a rare entity found, it is found in 0.1-1 % of patients with chronic cholecystitis. 1,2 This pathologic finding has been associated with extrahepatic biliary obstruction distal to the gallbladder, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis, choledocholithiasis, and distal biliary strictures.

Our patient is a 32-year-old female with a past medical history significant for obesity presented with symptoms of postprandial nausea and spasmodic abdominal pain. An abdominal ultrasound was performed with findings adenomyosis and possible gallbladder polyps or adherent stones. The patient was referred to surgery and a routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy with liver biopsy was performed. On pathology, the gallbladder was found to have chronic, active follicular cholecystitis with cholelithiasis. Percutaneous needle liver biopsy revealed the following: focal, mild periductal fibrosis, mild portal fibrosis with minimal mixed micro- and macrovesicular steatosis, and no significant steatohepatitis.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented case of follicular cholecystitis with associated hepatic findings on pathology. Follicular cholecystitis is strongly associated with extrahepatic biliary obstruction distal to the gallbladder, but it has not been previously associated with liver fibrosis. We hope to bring awareness to this rare but significant pathology.

Our case is unusual due to the findings of hepatic periductal fibrosis with follicular cholecystitis. Follicular cholecystitis is strongly associated with extrahepatic biliary obstruction distal to the gallbladder but it has not been documented it to be associated with any hepatic findings or pathology.