A Case of Congenital Agenesis of the Gallbladder without Biliary Atresia associated with Duodenal Web

ABSTRACT

Congenital absence of the gall bladder without extrahepatic biliary atresia is an extremely rare congenital malformation with a reported incidence ranging between 0.01 and 0.02%. It is thought to be occurred from failure of the gallbladder bud to develop in utero and frequent association with other malformations. Agenesis can be randomly discovered at autopsy or operations for symptoms suggestive of biliary tract disease. The authors report a case of agenesis of the gallbladder without extrahepatic biliary atresia in a neonate which was incidentally found at laparotomy for presumed duodenal obstruction, with a review of the literature.