Unexpected intraoperative finding of a hyalinizing cholecystitis in a patient with gallbladder calculi

Abstract

Hyalinizing cholecystitis is a rare subtype of chronic cholecystitis in which the gallbladder tissue is replaced with hyaline sclerosis, more or less, and has a characteristic intraoperative appearance. Preoperative diagnosis is hard to establish. The entity is strongly associated with gallbladder carcinoma. Therefore, the pathologist should perform a thorough microscopic analysis. We present a case of an unusual intraoperative finding in a male patient with chronic cholecystitis which was proved to be a hyalinizing cholecystitis.