Chronic cholecystitis is the most frequent inflammatory disease of gallbladder. Cholelithiasis produces diverse histopathological changes in gallbladder mucosa namely acute and chronic inflammation, glandular hyperplasia, granulomatous inflammation, cholesterosis, dysplasia and carcinoma. The variable appearance of gallbladder in chronic cholecystitis is reflection of differences in the degree of inflammation and fibrosis. This study was aimed to tudy the frequency and pattern of histopathological alteration in gallbladder mucosa in cholelithiasis in surgically esected specimens. The correlation between duration and severity of disease based on pathological changes was also assessed in order to elucidate the importance of early cholecystectomy. The study was conducted on 100 cases of chronic cholecystitis. The age of the patients ranged from 20 to 78 years with peak incidence 47.65% above third decade. Inflammatory mononuclear infiltrate was present in all 100 cases. The infiltrate was mild in 43% cases, moderate in 40% cases and severe in 17% cases. Fibrosis was mild in 38%, moderate in 18% and severe in 10% cases. Gallbladder malignancy was seen in 4 cases, with 1 case of mild dysplasia and 3 cases of severe dysplasia. The conclusion of the study suggest that grading of chronic cholecystitis should be used in routine reporting of gallbladder specimens so as to give complete information to surgeon.

Keywords: Cholethiasis; Carcinoma Gallbladder; Dysplasia.