Impact of Morphology of Gallstones on Histopathological Changes in Gallbladder Mucosa: A Study

Coexistence of gallstones with cholecystitis, hyperplasia, intestinal metaplasia, and carcinoma is wellknown in literature. Gallstones may be cholesterol, pigment or mixed type. To study the impact of morphology of gallstones on histopathological changes in gallbladder mucosa was planned. The study was conducted on 50 patients of cholelithiasis, who underwent cholecystectomy. Physical characterstics of gallstones were examined and the gallbladder specimen were sent for histopathological examination. Mixed type of stones were most commonly observed in 52 % of patients and 96.1 % of patients were having multiple stones. Mural inflammation was the most common histopathological finding significantly associated with mixed type of stones. Metaplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma were found in 6 %, 2 % and 2 % of patients respectively. Present study highlights the importance of careful gross and histopathologic evaluation of gallbladders as cholelithiasis may be associated with hyperplasia, metaplasia or dysplasia; even leading to gallbladder carcinoma in certain cases.