Cholecystectomy

Cholecystectomy
Intervention
X-Ray during Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. 1 - Duodenum. 2 - Common bile duct. 3 - Cystic duct. 4 - Hepatic duct.
ICD-9-CM	575.0
MeSH	D002763
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Cholecystectomy (/ˌkɒləsɪsˈtɛktəmi/; plural: cholecystectomies) is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. It is a common treatment of symptomatic gallstones and other gallbladder conditions. Surgical options include the standard procedure, called laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and an older, more invasive procedure, called open cholecystectomy. The surgery can lead to postcholecystectomy syndrome.

Indications for cholecystectomy include inflammation of the gall bladder (cholecystitis), biliary colic, risk factors for gall bladder cancer, and pancreatitis caused by gall stones.

Cholecystectomy is the recommended treatment the first time a person is admitted to hospital for cholecystitis. Cholecystitis may be acute or chronic, and may or may not involve the presence of gall stones. Risk factors for gall bladder cancer include a "porcelain gallbladder," or calcium deposits in the wall of the gall bladder, and an abnormal pancreatic duct.

Cholecystectomy can prevent the relapse of pancreatitis that is caused by gall stones that block the common bile duct.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has now replaced open cholecystectomy as the first-choice of treatment for gallstones and inflammation of the gallbladder unless there are contraindications to the laparoscopic approach. This is because open surgery leaves the patient more prone to infection. Sometimes, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy will be converted to an open cholecystectomy for technical reasons or safety.