Gallstone disease is common and complications frequently encountered include acute cholecystitis, acute pancreatitis, and cholangitis, but gallbladder perforation (GBP) is rare. A definitive diagnosis is uncommon before surgery and morbidity and mortality associated with this condition are high. Reported incidence ranges between 2 and 10.6 % in patients with acute cholecystitis but is higher in patients managed conservatively. We report here five patients with GBP to show the difficulty in making an early diagnosis.