When doctors recommend gallbladder stones or polyps patients to remove the gallbladder, many patients are reluctant, some are afraid of a knife, and some are worried that the body will “collapse” if the gallbladder is cut. In fact, the gallbladder only plays the role of storing and concentrating bile, it does not produce and secrete bile. The organ that really produces and secretes bile is the liver. Bile is the substance that helps digest food.
After the removal of the gallbladder, the bile storage and concentration functions are lost, but the bile can still mix with food in the small intestine and play a digestive role. Moreover, most of the gallbladder stone or polyp surgeries are now done with minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques, which are less invasive and have faster recovery. But is it superfluous for patients to have such concerns? From the information collected so far, although gallbladder removal solves the patient’s pain but there are still some unfavorable factors that need to be weighed before deciding to remove the gallbladder, here is a brief introduction to the adverse effects of gallbladder removal on people. Indigestion, bloating, diarrhea: In addition to the functions of storage, concentration and contraction, the gallbladder also has complex chemical and immune functions. Bile secreted by hepatocytes enters the gallbladder for storage and concentration along the cystic duct via the intra- and extra-hepatic bile ducts. After eating, under the regulation of the vagus nerve and cholecystokinin, the gallbladder contracts and expels bile into the intestinal lumen to participate in digestion. If the gallbladder is removed, bile is continuously drained into the intestine. Without the help of “storage bile” in the body, the digestion and absorption of food, especially the digestion and absorption of fat, will be affected, resulting in steatorrhea and fat-soluble vitamin deficiency; causing indigestion, bloating, diarrhea and emaciation. Increased incidence of common bile duct stones after cholecystectomy: after cholecystectomy, the fluid pressure in the bile duct leads to higher pressure in the common bile duct, causing compensatory dilation of the common bile duct; in addition, the gallbladder has the function of concentrating bile, and the concentrated bile has higher solubility for cholesterol, while after cholecystectomy, the bile acid salt is obviously reduced, the concentration of bile loses its place, and the concentration of bile acid in the hepatic bile duct decreases leading to the The cholesterol solubility is reduced, and over time, it tends to cause the accumulation of cholesterol easily to form stones. The incidence of colon cancer may increase after surgery: In recent years, many European scholars have found that many of the cases of colon cancer have a history of gallbladder removal. Changes in the quality and quantity of bile after gallbladder removal may be the main cause of colorectal cancer, and further studies are needed to prove this. Alkaline reflux gastritis: The loss of bile reserve function after cholecystectomy causes bile to change from intermittent and feeding-related excretion to continuous excretion into the duodenum, and the persistence of unmixed bile with food in the duodenum increases the chance of reflux into the stomach, leading to bile reflux gastritis. Post-cholecystectomy syndrome: Modern post-cholecystectomy syndrome refers only to the inflammation and dyskinesia of the Oddi’s sphincter that occurs after having a cholecystectomy. Studies have shown that post-cholecystectomy can lead to sphincter of Oddi’s dysfunction. And this syndrome is very difficult to treat clinically.