Blunt Abdominal Injury With Isolated Gallbladder Hematoma

Abstract 

Blunt abdominal contusion is common in children, but isolated injury with gallbladder hematoma is rarely observed. Examining children can be difficult because they may not cooperate or understand procedures, and therefore, radiography is helpful for diagnosis. However, there are still limitations in applying radiographic examinations in diagnosing intra-abdominal injuries, especially in children with peritoneal signs or an unstable hemodynamic status. In these circumstances, invasive intervention with laparoscopy should be applied for further evaluation. We report here a 6-year-old girl with blunt abdominal trauma in whom hepatobiliary injury was noted on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Because the patient was unconscious, had unstable vital signs, and the radiographic study was ambiguous, peritonitis could not be excluded. A laparoscopy was then performed and isolated gallbladder hematoma was diagnosed. The patient was discharged after laparoscopic intervention and orthopedic fixation.

Keywords:  Blunt abdominal injury , Gallbladder hematoma , Pediatric trauma

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