Gallbladder
The gallbladder is an organ located under the liver. It is associated with the liver, stomach, duodenum, and pancreas via the biliary tract. The most common diseases are gallbladder inflammation and biliary polyps due to gallstones.
Gallstones
It is common in women over the age of forty. Having multiple births, being overweight, fair-skinned, and having a family history of gallstones increase the risk. Some of the conditions that predispose to gallstone formation are gastric surgery, the presence of blood diseases such as thalassemia and sickle cell anemia, and Crohn’s disease.
Cholesterol stones are usually seen in the gallbladder. These stones can be in different colors from yellow-white to green-black. They are smooth-surfaced stones.
In 30% of those with gallstones, no complaints may be observed. Bloating, gas after meals, abdominal pain are common. Over time, there may be stone-related infection and attacks of abdominal pain. As a result of recurrent gallbladder inflammations, the wall of the bladder thickens and becomes chronic cholecystitis. Sometimes, the wall of the sac may become gangrenous due to infection and burst, and bile flowing into the abdomen may cause peritonitis. Or it can rot the stomach wall and fistulize here.
Diseases such as pain, indigestion, jaundice, itching, infection (acute / chronic cholecystitis), pancreatitis, gallbladder cancer; They are the most common problems related to gallstones.
Jaundice can be seen when small stones fall into the biliary tract. The cause of jaundice is a stone-related obstruction in any area along the course of the biliary tract. Sometimes, pancreatic inflammation, which we call pancreatitis, can be seen by blocking the pancreatic duct.
Diabetic patients, patients at risk of cancer and patients undergoing chemotherapy should be treated even if they do not have any complaints. Treatment is surgical removal of the gallbladder as a whole.