Metastatic urothelial carcinoma presenting as acute cholecystitis

Abstract

Metastatic involvement of the gallbladder is uncommon. We report a case of an 84-year-old male who presented with acute cholecystitis secondary to metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC). An 84-year-old man presented with right upper quadrant pain and a positive Murphy's sign on the background of known metastatic UC. He was diagnosed with acute cholecystitis and underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. His postoperative period was complicated by a cardiac event, and he died 2 days later. Histology of the gallbladder revealed extensive infiltration by nested malignant epithelioid proliferation, consistent with UC. This case demonstrates that although uncommon, UC may metastasize to unusual sites, including the gallbladder. This serves as a reminder for surgeons to consider metastatic disease as a cause for acute cholecystitis.