Ectopic Liver Tissue Associated With the Gallbladder: Two Unique Patients and a Literature Review

Abstract

Ectopic/accessory liver tissue is a rare developmental anomaly thought to be due to abnormal development of the liver during embryogenesis. Most patients with ectopic liver tissue are asymptomatic, and the condition is usually discovered incidentally during intraabdominal surgery or autopsy. In rare symptomatic cases, patients’ presentations can range from mild liver function test abnormalities to severe abdominal pain or discomfort secondary to torsion and ischemia. Here, we report 2 patients with ectopic liver tissue identified incidentally during cholecystectomy: one with histologic manifestations of sickle cell congestion and the other with steatohepatitis. A possible relationship between ectopic liver tissue and gallbladder and biliary diseases, such as cholecystitis, has been proposed. To the best of our knowledge, ectopic liver tissue with sickle cell congestion has not been reported previously.