GALLBLADDER TORSION

Gallbladder torsion is a rare surgical emergency occurring primarily in elderly women. The anatomical background is a variation in the attachment of the gallbladder to the inferior margin of the liver. Increasing life span will probably lead to an increasing number of cases, and gallbladder torsion must be kept in mind in patients with sudden onset of pain in the upper right quadrant, nausea, vomiting, and a palpable mass. None of the laboratory routines or noninvasive examinations enables one to make the right preoperative diagnosis. Treatment is cholecystectomy. Promptly treated, the prognosis is good.