What are gallbladder infection symptoms, what does the removal operation involve and what are gallstones?
Gallstones are very common and usually harmless - although if they spark health concerns, people may have their gallbladder removed
THE gallbladder is a small organ in the upper right area of your stomach, and helps your body to digest fatty foods.
It’s not an essential organ to humans, so is often removed if it starts to cause any health issues.
What are gallstones?
Gallstones are small stones that form in the gallbladder, which are made up of cholesterol.
Having gallstones is very common, and they affect around one in 10 adults in the UK.
However, while they normally don’t cause any symptoms, if they get inflamed or infected, they can cause further health problems.
Inflammation of the gallbladder is called acute cholecystitis, and usually develops because a gallstone has obstructed the cystic duct.
What are the symptoms of acute cholecystitis?
According to the NHS, the main symptom is a sudden sharp pain in the upper right side of your stomach, which spreads towards your right shoulder.
Breathing deeply can make the pain worse, and it doesn’t go away within a few hours.
Other symptoms include:
- a high temperature (fever)
- nausea and vomiting
- sweating
- loss of appetite
- yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice)
- a bulge in the abdomen
How is it treated?
If you’re diagnosed with acute cholecystitis, you should head straight to your GP, who may admit you to hospital.
You may be made to fast and receive fluids through a drip to take the strain of your gallbladder.
Pain relief medication will help, and if your gallbladder is infected, you could be given antibiotics.
most read in health
What if it needs to be removed?
Patients with gallstones which are causing pain may have to have their gallbladder removed, and the removal procedure is known as a cholecystectomy.
It’s very common, and is performed under a general anaesthetic so that you won’t feel any pain.
If it’s done by ‘keyhole’ surgery, it is removed with several small cuts to your abdomen, so that your surgeon can remove it with small instruments.
You’ll be able to leave hospital the same day or the following morning, as recovery in minimal.
Or, it can be removed with one large incision to access and remove it – but you may have to stay in hospital for a few days afterwards.