Gallbladder Polyps: Rare Lesions in Childhood

Abstract

Objective: Unlike adults, gallbladder polyps (GPs) are rare in childhood. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients with a GP diagnosis. Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with GP via ultrasonography from October 2012 to October 2017 were retrospectively evaluated in terms of sociodemographic characteristics and laboratory findings. Results: The study included 19 patients diagnosed with GP and followed up in our department. The patients comprised 14 (73.6%) girls with a mean age of 13.9 +/- 4.1 years and a mean follow-up period of 10.2 +/- 5.4 months (range, 3-26 months). The most common presenting symptom of the patients (n = 15, 78.9%) for ultrasonography was abdominal pain without biliary symptoms. Location of the polyps was in the corpus in 55% of patients, and either in the fundus (20%) or the neck of the gallbladder (25%). The average diameter of the polyps was 4.5 +/- 1.6mm (range, 2-9 mm). Multiple polyps were observed in 3 patients. No significant change in the number or size of polyps was noted at the end of the follow-up periods. Cholecystectomy was applied to 1 patient who had > 5 polyps with a rapid increase in size, and the pathology report was hamartomatous polyp. There was no remarkable change in the clinical or laboratory findings of other patients during the follow-up period. Conclusion: In this study, GPs could be seen in young children as young as 16 months of age and ultrasonography is sufficient for follow-up in stable and asymptomatic patients.