A very original case of a mini accessory liver lobe with its own gallbladder.

PURPOSE: Anatomic variation of the hepatobiliary system is often related to the biliary tract and vascular supply of the liver. We present here one of the smallest accessory hepatobiliary system.

METHODS

The case of a 30-year-old male who was a living liver donor is presented.

RESULTS

During the dissection of the portal hilum, 1.5 cm of accessory liver (AL) tissue was noted below the left lobe of the liver. This AL tissue had a gallbladder of 1.5 cm and which had a cystic duct opening to the bile duct of the accessory liver. The AL bile duct opened to the left bile duct of the liver. The arterial and portal supply of the AL came from the left artery and left portal vein of the liver. The accessory gallbladder also had a cystic artery coming from the arterial branch of the AL. It was noted that the hepatic vein of the AL opened directly to left lobe tissue.

CONCLUSIONS

The hepatobiliary system has many anatomic variations, but this case is rare and original in the literature in that it may be a cause of confusion and even a false diagnosis.