Congenital Absence of the Gallbladder and Cystic Duct

Familiarity with the congenital anomalies of the gallbladder and the biliary tract is essential to assure accurate clinical diagnosis and proper management of disorders in this system. It is difficult to give a precise estimate of the incidence of all the aberrations which have been observed in these structures, but they are generally said to occur in approximately 10% of necropsies (Banks and Lawrance). Many of the congenital variations are of no clinical significance, for they may persist throughout life without inducing symptoms. A substantial percentage of anomalies of the gallbladder, however, is responsible for pathological changes in the bile ducts, which, in turn, predispose the latter to inflammation and stone formation. This is true of the symptomatic patient with congenital absence of the gallbladder and cystic duct.

The presence of this anomaly and the concomitant derangements which it may occasion in the adjoining bile ducts can only be educed