[Gallbladder torsion: report of a case].

A case of an 81 year old woman who had fever, abdominal pain and a palpable mass in epigastrium and right hypochondriac region is presented. She was diagnosed as having acute cholecystitis and hydrops of the gallbladder. The surgical operation was performed and the findings were: dilated gallbladder with necrotic aspect, free floating with torsion of the cystic duct (greater than 180 degrees) wrapped in the mentum. There was no hepatic bed of the gallbladder. After correcting the torsion, the gallbladder was extirpated, with good clinical evolution. The etiopathogenia is discussed and the literature is reviewed. Despite the rareness of the gallbladder's torsion and the disease being relatively unknown, it has to be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in the elderly.