Your gallbladder is located in the right upper quadrant of your abdomen. This is the area on the right side of your abdomen that ranges from the bottom of your sternum breastbone to your navel. Inside your body, the gallbladder can be found under the liver. Other indications that you may have a gallbladder issue are digestive symptoms.
These can include nausea and vomiting. Gallstones are hard nuggets of material that can form in your gallbladder. They can be made up of cholesterol or a bile salt called bilirubin and can vary in size. However, several risk factors include, but are not limited to:. However, when stones block a duct in the biliary system, pain can occur. When symptomatic gallstones are left untreated, complications can result. Cholecystitis is when your gallbladder becomes inflamed.
This is often due to a blockage caused by gallstones. Other factors that can cause cholecystitis include tumors, infections, or issues with blood circulation. If the condition is left untreated, it can cause potentially serious complications. This may include a tear in the gallbladder or an infection of the bile. Treatment may involve medications to address the inflammation, but in some cases gallbladder removal is necessary.
In some cases, you may have cholecystitis without the presence of gallstones. This happens in about 5 percent of people with acute cholecystitis. This condition is often seen in people with injuries to their abdomen or who have spent time in an intensive care unit. Choledocholithiasis happens when a gallstone blocks the common bile duct.
This is the duct that takes bile from the liver to the small intestine. When this happens, bile begins to back up in the liver. People with choledocholithiasis usually experience pain in the upper right part of their abdomen.
Other symptoms include:. The condition is treated by removing the gallstone from the duct using an endoscope. Removal of the gallbladder may also be recommended to prevent the condition from happening again. Gallbladder polyps are growths that project into the inside of the gallbladder. About 95 percent of polyps are benign noncancerous. Most people with polyps have no symptoms and the polyps are found by a routine ultrasound or CT scan.
However, some people do experience symptoms, such as pain in the upper right part of the abdomen and nausea. Unhealthful dietary choices are one factor that can increase the risk of gallbladder disease.
Find out more about foods that can protect the…. The gallbladder stores and releases bile. Problems such as gallstones and cholecystitis can affect its health, leading to pain and other complications. A look at gallbladder sludge, which is a collection of cholesterol, calcium, bilirubin, and other compounds that build up in the gallbladder. It is…. The gallbladder is a small organ tucked under the liver on the right side of the abdomen.
Though small, it can cause serious problems when cholesterol…. Cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder that usually occurs due to a gallstone getting stuck in the opening.
It can be acute or chronic…. How do I recognize gallbladder inflammation? Medically reviewed by Saurabh Sethi, M. Symptoms Complications Causes The gallbladder is a pear-shaped digestive organ located on the right side of the abdomen.
Share on Pinterest Gallbladder inflammation can occur as a result of gallstones. Exposure to air pollutants may amplify risk for depression in healthy individuals.
Costs associated with obesity may account for 3. If your polyps are causing symptoms, your doctor may order an abdominal ultrasound to look at the area. If you have polyps that are less than half an inch wide, your doctor may decide that no further exploration is needed, since these are unlikely to be cancerous.
Some gallbladder problems may cause only minor, occasional discomfort, while others may lead to serious and even life-threatening health problems. Your doctor will determine the type and severity of your gallbladder problem and come up with a treatment strategy. Many gallbladder problems improve or are even completely resolved with treatment. Gallbladder problems may be persistent, causing bouts of pain and other symptoms indefinitely if the underlying condition is not treated.
If you have a gallstone that is blocking your common bile duct the one that runs from the gallbladder to the small intestine , your doctor may recommend endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography ERCP. This procedure may be used both to diagnose your condition and to treat it immediately.
During ERCP, an endoscope a long, thin tube containing a tiny camera is passed down your throat and into your bile ducts. Your doctor may then use additional tubes or tiny tools to remove gallstones from the area. If your doctor discovers during ERCP that there are gallstones in the gallbladder itself, surgery may be necessary. If you have gallbladder cancer, in addition to having your gallbladder removed, your doctor may recommend additional treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Doctors are also learning more about how and when to treat gallstones during pregnancy. The most common surgical procedure related to the gallbladder is removing it completely. Known as cholecystectomy , gallbladder removal is most often performed to resolve pain caused by gallstones.
There are two methods of gallbladder removal. Laparoscopy , which is almost always the preferred method, involves making several small incisions through which surgical tools and a tiny video camera are inserted. Open surgery, using a large incision, may be required if your surgeon discovers during a laparoscopic procedure that your gallbladder is infected or has hardened.
This happens in 5 to 10 percent of laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries. Learn More About Gallbladder Surgery. A drug called ursodiol may be taken to slowly dissolve the cholesterol in gallstones. But this treatment can take months, and gallstones may return once the drug is no longer being taken. When your gallbladder is removed, your body is no longer able to store bile there. As a result, your liver must adapt to releasing bile directly into your small intestine to aid in digestion. Before your body adapts to this new reality, it can be more difficult to digest certain fatty and high-fiber foods.
Gallstones can lead to a number of different complications in the gallbladder and beyond, including the following:. Gallbladder inflammation or a bile duct blockage can be quite painful and cause fever, chills, or jaundice. Seek urgent medical attention if you develop these symptoms. Learn More About Cholecystitis. Gallbladder removal is a common procedure that rarely results in severe complications.
You may also experience loose stools on occasion after gallbladder removal, caused by bile entering your small intestine when no food is present. This may be treated with a bile acid-binding medication. In some cases, though, more severe complications develop, such as bile leaking into the abdominal cavity or an injury to a bile duct, your liver, or your small intestine.
These can occur on top of general surgery complications like infection, bleeding, blood clots, and pneumonia. Contact your doctor if you experience any signs of a complication that may need treatment. More than 25 million people in the United States have gallstones, according to Harvard Medical School, making them relatively common. Before age 40, women are almost three times as likely to develop gallstones as men — in part because of the increased risk of gallstones during pregnancy.
But by age 60, women have only a slightly higher risk. Gallbladder removal is one of the most common operations in the United States, performed over , times each year. Certain ethnic groups have a higher risk for gallbladder problems than others. In the United States, the risk for gallbladder cancer is highest for Native Americans than any other group. Gallbladder problems such as gallstones are sometimes seen alongside other health problems, including the following:.
In addition, gallstones and other gallbladder problems may increase the risk of certain health problems, including:. American College of Gastroenterology. If your doctor suspects gallbladder disease, this is a good resource to start with. The web page is divided into questions about different aspects of the condition.
American Pediatric Surgical Association. This site is geared toward parents of children with gallbladder disease, but may be useful for people of any age or their caregivers.
It offers a thorough and easy-to-understand explanation of how the gallbladder works and what can go wrong, diagnostic tests, treatment options, and recovery. Surgery to remove the gallbladder is most often done laparoscopically, using small incisions and guided by a tiny camera.
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