Quote:
> >> Is anyone familiar with this? Does the gallbladder need to be
> >> removed? Is there any way to get rid of them without surgery?
> >> What causes polyps on the gallbladder? What if you don't have
> >> it removed?
> >> -Jan
> >You need to provide a little more information. Why was you gallbladder
> >imaged, what symptoms do you have, are you possibly going to have an
> >operation
> >for another reason, how bid are they, where there stones or sludge in
> >the gallbladder, do you have diabetes, how old are you, how many polyps
> >were there, what did your doctor say, and other pertinent information.
> >Steve
> Steve
> OK. Pain every so often in the right side, directly under the ribs.
> Patient decided to go find out what it was. Doctor sent her for a
> sonogram. Results were polyps on/in (I'm not sure which) the gallbladder.
> Polyps are about 7 mm and there are about ten of them. When she experiences
> this pain it is under the ribcage through to the back. Hard to take a
> deep breath.
Well, the pain every once in a while that gets worse with breathing is
not what we call biliary type pain. That pain last more than 30 minutes
and less than 4 hours, usually less than 2 hours. In the abscence of
answers to the other questions, I am just replying to the question of
what to do about incidentally found gallbladder polyps. If these were
just a couple of two millimeter polyps I would disregard them. The text-
books do not address this situation well. The concern underlying the
response is what is the chance that there is a cancer here. Pain
associated with gallbladder cancer may not be typical biliary pain. The
conservative answer would be to take it out. In cases where gallbladder
cancer is found there are often polyps present around the gallbladder.
This, of course, is not really the question, but with 10 polyps of 7 mm
size, it is worrisome. Part of the answer also depends on you. If you
are fearful of an operation and are willing to take the risk of waiting
and will not be burdeoned by having this hang over you, that would be a
factor in the decision.
What I would do is express to my physician whether operations were
something
that I feared, and how much I would be affected if I had to worry about
having a gallbladder that could become a cancer. Then, your physician
could use that information and the knowledge about how the gallbladder
looked (and there is usually more information than just the number and
size of the polyps) so the best recommendation could be made for you.
At the least, if an operation is recommended and you are known to be
skittish about the option, then more information about what an operation
would entail could be provided to put you at ease.
This advice is worth what you paid for it.
Best of Luck!
Steve Holland, M.D. Div of Gastroenterology U of AL at Birmingham
Gallbladder Polyps (?)