Gallbladder perforation following abdominal liposuction: case report of a radiological pitfall
Abstract
Liposuction is a widely performed aesthetic procedure. However, its potential for serious complications remains underestimated. We report a rare case of delayed liver trauma and gallbladder perforation in a 33-year-old woman following abdominal liposuction. After developing persistent abdominal pain, imaging revealed perihepatic fluid collections but failed to clearly identify a gallbladder injury. The clinical examinations suggested the presence of a localized peritonitis; therefore, an exploratory laparoscopy was performed, showing a minor hepatic injury and an active bile leakage from a gallbladder perforation, necessitating a laparotomic cholecystectomy. The patient recovered uneventfully. This case report underscores the importance of clinical judgment when imaging is inconclusive and highlights the role of diagnostic laparoscopy in the management of intra-abdominal injuries.
References
- Ezzeddine H, Husari A, Nassar H, et al. Life threatening complications post-liposuction. Aesthetic Plast Surg 2018;42:384-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-017-1058-x
- Soderstrom CA, Maekawa K, DuPriest RW Jr, Cowley RA. Gallbladder injuries resulting from blunt abdominal trauma: an experience and review. Ann Surg 1981;193:60-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000658-198101000-00010
- Thomson BNJ, Nardino B, Gumm K, et al. Management of blunt and penetrating biliary tract trauma. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2012;72:1620-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e318248ed65
- Ajlan AM, Alqahtani A, Kellow Z. Intracholecystic fat herniation in traumatic gallbladder perforation: a case report: A case report. J Comput Assist Tomogr 2009;33:408-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/RCT.0b013e3181824d44
- Sharma O. Blunt gallbladder injuries: presentation of twenty-two cases with review of the literature. J Trauma 1995;39:576-80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00005373-199509000-00029
- Niemeier OW. Acute free perforation of the gall-bladder. Ann Surg 1934;99:922-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000658-193499060-00005
- Anderson BB, Nazem A. Perforations of the gallbladder and cholecystobiliary fistulae: a review of management and a new classification. J Natl Med Assoc 1987;79:393-9.
- Coccolini F, Kobayashi L, Kluger Y, et al. Duodeno-pancreatic and extrahepatic biliary tree trauma: WSES-AAST guidelines. World J Emerg Surg 2019;14:56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13017-019-0278-6
- Ball CG, Dixon E, Kirkpatrick AW, et al. A decade of experience with injuries to the gallbladder. J Trauma Manag Outcomes [Internet] 2010;4:3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-2897-4-3
- Cinquantini F, Tugnoli G, Piccinini A, et al. Educational review of predictive value and findings of computed tomography scan in diagnosing bowel and mesenteric injuries after blunt trauma: Correlation with trauma surgery findings in 163 patients. Can Assoc Radiol J 2017;68:276-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carj.2016.07.003
- Joseph DK, Kunac A, Kinler RL, et al. Diagnosing blunt hollow viscus injury: is computed tomography the answer? Am J Surg 2013;205:414-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2012.12.003
- Akay HO, Senturk S, Cigdem MK, et al. Isolated traumatic gallbladder rupture: US findings and the role of repeat US in diagnosis. Pediatr Radiol 2008;38:691-3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-008-0759-3
- Gagne S, O Sullivan-Murphy B, Lo HS, McIntosh LJ. Pancreaticobiliary trauma: A multimodality imaging update. Semin Ultrasound CT MR 2018;39:355-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.sult.2018.03.004
- Tkacz JN, Anderson SA, Soto J. MR imaging in gastrointestinal emergencies. Radiographics 2009;29:1767-80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1148/rg.296095509
- Neugebauer EAM, Sauerland S. Guidelines for emergency laparoscopy. World J Emerg Surg [Internet] 2006;1:31 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-7922-1-31
- Agresta F, Ansaloni L, Baiocchi GL, et al. Laparoscopic approach to acute abdomen from the Consensus Development Conference of the Società Italiana di Chirurgia Endoscopica e nuove tecnologie (SICE), Associazione Chirurghi Ospedalieri Italiani (ACOI), Società Italiana di Chirurgia (SIC), Società Italiana di Chirurgia d’Urgenza e del Trauma (SICUT), Società Italiana di Chirurgia nell’Ospedalità Privata (SICOP), and the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES). Surg Endosc 2012;26:2134-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-012-2331-3
Metrics
Citations and online attention from Dimensions, Altmetric and PlumX.
License
Copyright (c) 2025 the Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.