Cholecystectomy

A cholecystectomy removes the gallbladder, usually through a laparoscopic approach. The gallbladder normally stores and concentrates bile made by the liver. After removal, bile continues to travel from the liver through the bile ducts into the intestine; it is no longer stored for release with a fatty meal. The operation is commonly performed for symptomatic gallstones or acute cholecystitis. Gallstones can obstruct the cystic duct, trapping bile inside the gallbladder. Pressure rises in a closed space, blood flow to the gallbladder wall is impaired, and inflammation develops. This is acute cholecystitis. The procedure removes the diseased organ and prevents recurrent cystic-duct obstruction. It does not mean that every future episode of abdominal pain, jaundice, or fever can be dismissed as “normal after gallbladder surgery.” Those findings may signal a complication or impaired bile drainage.