An ectopic rim sign in hepatobiliary scintigraphy.

A 59-year-old man with gangrenous cholecystitis is presented along with an hepatobiliary scan that demonstrated nonvisualization of the gallbladder and a curvilinear area of increased activity in the region of the fissure for the ligamentum teres or common hepatic duct. There was no "rim sign" in the gallbladder fossa. We propose that perforation of the gallbladder and resultant pockets of pus may, through edematous compression of liver parenchyma, produce an ectopic rim sign if inflammation comes in contact with another portion of the liver.