Gallbladder compression sign: an indicator of small isoechoic hepatic tumors

A small isoechoic liver mass is difficult to detect with ultrasound. Gallbladder compression indicates the presence of the lesion. To assess the clinical significance of the gallbladder compression (GBC) sign, we report on 9 cases of small isoechoic hepatic masses (less than 3 cm in diameter) detected by the GBC sign. The final diagnoses of these small hepatic masses was 3 hepatomas, 2 hemangiomas, 2 nodular regenerations, 1 liver abscess, and 1 normal liver lobule. The gallbladder compression sign was not seen in 4992 normal volunteers. In conclusion, the GBC sign is an useful guide for the detection of a small isoechoic mass in the liver, but the nature of the mass cannot be determined.