Cholecystitis is when the gallbladder becomes swollen and painful. Other names are gallbladder disease or an inflamed gallbladder.
It can cause digestive problems like vomiting and most often affects people in middle age.
In most cases, doctors suggest surgery to remove the gallbladder when it's inflamed or infected. Without treatment, gallbladder disease can lead to serious health issues.
Search our provider directory and schedule an appointment with a UPMC Digestive Health Care expert close to you or call 1-866-442-7876.
Doctors define cholecystitis as an inflamed gallbladder.
The gallbladder is a small organ below the liver. It stores bile, a liquid that helps to break down fat.
When the gallbladder opening gets blocked, bile can back up in the gallbladder, leading to swelling and pain.
About 500,000 people have gallbladder removal surgery in the U.S. each year due to this disease.
In 95% of cases, one of the following blocks the opening of the gallbladder:
More rarely, gallbladder disease happens for other reasons, such as:
Gallbladder disease risks include:
In many cases, the signs of gallbladder disease will go away on their own after two or three days. But, people with cholecystitis risk having more problems if it doesn't resolve.
An untreated, inflamed gallbladder can also lead to:
Search our provider directory and schedule an appointment with a UPMC Digestive Health Care expert close to you or call 1-866-442-7876.
Signs of an inflamed gallbladder can include:
In many cases, the symptoms will get better on their own in two to three days.
If pain and fever get worse, that's likely a sign of a severe issue. Doctors may suggest removing the gallbladder soon after diagnosis to avoid more problems.
Doctors will ask you about your symptoms.
If your doctor thinks you might have gallbladder disease, they'll also:
Doctors also may suggest a hepatobiliary scan (called a HIDA scan).
In this test, a nurse or technician inserts a small amount of a radioactive chemical into the body. A scan shows how the chemical flows through the liver and gallbladder before the body expels it.
Search our provider directory and schedule an appointment with a UPMC Digestive Health Care expert close to you or call 1-866-442-7876.
In most cases, doctors suggest surgery to remove the gallbladder. The risk of problems from gallbladder disease is higher than the risk of surgery.
While the gallbladder helps with digestion, you can live without it.
Some people must reduce high-fat and spicy foods after gallbladder surgery to avoid cramping or other symptoms.
Most often, gallbladder removal surgery is laparoscopic or minimally invasive.
During laparoscopic gallbladder surgery, your surgeon will:
Sometimes people require open surgery to remove their gallbladder through one large cut.
Imaging tests may reveal that the surgeon will have trouble accessing the gallbladder using the minimally invasive technique.
Or, doctors may suggest open surgery if they need to clean the abdominal area to avoid infection.
Rarely the surgeon needs to drain the gallbladder by inserting a tube directly into it.
Imaging techniques allow the doctor to guide the tube in place.
Doctors may suggest this if you're temporarily too ill for gallbladder removal surgery.
Doctors suggest diet changes for people with a high risk of bleeding or other issues stemming from the surgery. A low-fat and low-spice diet can reduce the risk of repeated incidences of gallbladder disease.
Lifestyle changes often don't work, and people often require surgery later anyway.
Search our provider directory and schedule an appointment with a UPMC Digestive Health Care expert close to you or call 1-866-442-7876.
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