Porcelain gallbladder

Objective: To discuss the case of a porcelain gallbladder found incidentally in a patient with low back and heel pain. Clinical Features: A 70-year-old woman had low back pain, numbness in the left lower leg, and sharp pain in her left heel. Plain films of the lumbar spine necessitated diagnostic abdominal ultrasound, the findings of which were consistent with porcelain gallbladder. Intervention and Outcome: The patient has been recommended for prophylactic cholecystectomy and is concurrently being treated for mechanical low back and heel pain. Conclusions: Porcelain gallbladder is an uncommon finding; however, due to the greatly increased chance of malignancy, it must be considered in patients who have cystic type calcification in the right upper abdominal quadrant.