What is the function of the gallbladder?

  For more than 100 years, cholecystectomy has been considered the gold standard for the treatment of gallbladder stones (/polyp) as an effective treatment for gallbladder disease. In the last 20 years, the widespread introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy seems to have reinforced this perception and has led to a tendency to expand cholecystectomy.  From a historical perspective, there is a theoretical basis for the long-standing use of cholecystectomy as the “gold standard” in the treatment of gallbladder disease, and in 1886 the Western surgeon Langenbuch summed up his experience by stating. “For the treatment of gallbladder stones, the gallbladder should be removed, not only because it contains stones, but also because it can grow stones” (this is the famous “hotbed doctrine”). The traditional belief is that the gallbladder has no important function, so if the gallbladder is removed, there is no possibility of recurrence of gallbladder stones and no need to worry about cancerous polyps; therefore, the preferred treatment for gallbladder stones and gallbladder polyps is cholecystectomy.  However, it is also noted that removal of the gallbladder may cause a series of long-term side effects: 1, indigestion, bloating, diarrhea .  2.Digestive reflux/reflux gastritis, esophagitis.  3. Increased incidence of common bile duct stones.  4.Increased rate of bile duct injury.  5.Increased incidence of colorectal cancer (secondary bile acid theory).  6.Psychological disorder after cholecystectomy.  7, post-cholecystectomy syndrome, etc. The risk of medically induced bile duct injury due to cholecystectomy still exists, and once it occurs, the consequences are serious. Through years of clinical research, it is believed that the gallbladder is a very important digestive organ with complex chemical and immune functions in addition to concentration, contraction and regulation of buffering bile duct pressure. At present, it is generally believed that gallbladder functions include: storage function; concentration function; contraction function; secretion function; immune function; important influence on digestive function; and important regulation of biliary fluid pressure.  Therefore, removal of the gallbladder loses its physiological functions and can cause a series of physiological disorders, while preservation of the gallbladder preserves its physiological functions and maintains normal physiological functions. The gallbladder is not dispensable and should not be easily abolished. Preserving a well-functioning gallbladder should be beneficial to the human body. As the saying goes, there are some things that you don’t feel anything when you have them; once you lose them, you will feel deplorable.  Thanks to the advancement of modern technology, it is possible to perform a new type of endoscopic biliary stone extraction. We can use trans-laparoscopic minimally invasive biliary lithotripsy, using the “combined biliary soft and hard microscope”, using only the matching mesh basket and biopsy forceps to “eliminate” the stones, then the stone residual rate is low, the stone recurrence rate is also low, completely avoiding the disadvantages of the old biliary lithotripsy. The rate of stone retention is low, and the recurrence rate of stones is also low. Minimally invasive choledochotomy is technically feasible and very safe, completely avoiding the possibility of bile duct injury, with little trauma, fast recovery and few complications.  Of course, there is the worry of “stone recurrence” after cholecystectomy. According to statistics, the 10-year recurrence rate of gallbladder stones is 10.11%, which is within the acceptable range.  It is important to emphasize that not all patients with gallbladder disease should have their gallbladder removed, and not all patients can have their gallbladder preserved. The treatment of patients with gallbladder disease should be tailored to the individual (patient/doctor) and to the “gallbladder”. It is up to each individual to determine whether it is more beneficial to remove the gallbladder or to preserve it.  In conclusion, with the increasing demand for quality of life, the preservation of a functional gallbladder has become the goal of people. Cholecystectomy can achieve the goal of removing stones from the gallbladder while preserving the functional gallbladder, which has the advantages of less complications, minimally invasive, safe and repeatable, and truly realizes the “people-oriented” minimally invasive humanistic concept, which is a future treatment direction for gallbladder stones and gallbladder polyps.