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ABC Medical Center > Cholecystitis

What is Cholecystitis?

21:53 - 4 May , 2021

Disease

We are talking about the inflamed gallbladder due to the obstruction of the bile duct due to stones, tumors, infections, or other conditions.

If not diagnosed and treated on time, cholecystitis causes serious complications such as gallbladder rupture, which can be fatal, so the indicated treatment most of the time is to remove the gallbladder surgically.

Gallstones are the main cause of cholecystitis, which can lead to complications such as:

  • Gallbladder infections.
  • Gangrene.
  • Gallbladder tear or rupture.

Signs and symptoms Cholecystitis

Symptoms intensify after eating, especially if the food ingested had a lot of fat or was too spicy.

  • Intense pain on the right side of the abdomen that can radiate to its center.
  • Excessive burping.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • High fever.
  • Sore right shoulder radiating to the back.

If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor, but if the pain is so severe that it becomes unbearable, you should be taken to the ABC Medical Center Emergency Room for immediate treatment.

Preventing Factors:

You can reduce the risk of generating gallstones that could lead to cholecystitis by following these recommendations:

  • Slowly and steadily decrease your body weight.
  • When you reach your ideal weight, continue eating healthy and being physically active daily.

Diagnosis and treatment Cholecystitis

Once your doctor analyzes your symptoms and clinical history, they will perform a physical examination and request the following tests to confirm the diagnosis:

  • Blood test.
  • Ultrasound.
  • Computed tomography.
  • Hepatobiliary scintigraphy to observe the course of the bile.

Regularly, the indicated treatment is to control the inflammation, extraction of the stones, or if there is already severe dysfunction, the removal of the gallbladder or cholecystectomy by open surgery (when the gallbladder has already burst) or laparoscopy.

Although the symptoms disappear, they tend to reappear over time, so surgery will eventually be necessary.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a minimally invasive surgery where, with a few small abdominal incisions, the gallbladder is removed so that the bile passes directly from the liver to the small intestine instead of accumulating in the gallbladder, which does not affect the patient’s quality of life.

The time to perform the surgery should be set according to the progress of the disease and the severity of the symptoms.

Once the operative and postoperative risks have been analyzed, the cholecystectomy can be performed from 48 to 72 hours, or before, depending on the urgency.

At ABC Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Department, we offer health care services with the highest quality and safety, from the prevention, diagnosis, timely treatment, and monitoring of infectious, respiratory, endocrinological, dermatological, rheumatic, nephrological, gastrointestinal, and hematological pathologies of both chronic-degenerative diseases and acute conditions, through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary model.

Related centers and departments

Internal medicine
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

  • mayoclinic.org
  • medlineplus.gov
  • cun.es
  • topdoctors.es
  • cigna.com
  • medigraphic.com
  • Álvarez HL, Manzano SC, González HA, et al. Hallazgos ultrasonográficos de las vías biliares en pacientes pediátricos con fiebre tifoidea. Enf Infec Microbiol. 2006;26(2):52-57.
  • López EG, Paipilla MOA, López GSL, et al. Factores de riesgo relacionados con la conversión de colecistectomía laparoscópica a colecistectomía abierta en una Unidad de Cirugía Mayor Ambulatoria en un periodo de cinco años. Cir Gen. 2020;42(3):191-196. doi:10.35366/99958.
  • Caraballoso GVJ, Santana González-Chávez A, Abad CC, et al. Guía práctica de colecistitis aguda en la edad pediátrica. Rev Cubana Pediatr. 2020;92(2):1-13.
  • Acosta-Prieto S, Armas-Pérez BA, Romero-Sánchez RE. Diagnóstico ultrasonográfico de colecistitis aguda. Mediciego. 2019;25(2):1-12.

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					The dissemination of the content of this material is for informational purposes only and does not replace, under any circumstance or condition, a consultation with a specialist doctor, for which the ABC Medical Center is not responsible for the different use that may be given to it. If you require more information related to the subject, we suggest you contact the specialist doctor you trust directly.