Cholecystectomy - open; Gallbladder - open cholecystectomy; Cholecystitis - open cholecystectomy; Gallstones - open cholecystectomy
Open gallbladder removal is surgery to remove the gallbladder through a large cut in your abdomen.
The gallbladder is an organ that sits below the liver. It stores bile, which your body uses to digest fats in the small intestine.
Surgery is done while you are under general anesthesia so you will be asleep and pain-free. To perform the surgery:
An x-ray called a cholangiogram may be done during your surgery.
The surgery takes about 1 to 2 hours.
You may need this surgery if you have pain or other symptoms from gallstones. You may also need surgery if your gallbladder is not working normally.
Common symptoms may include:
The most common way to remove the gallbladder is by using a medical instrument called a laparoscope (laparoscopic cholecystectomy). Open gallbladder surgery is used when laparoscopic surgery cannot be done safely. In some cases, the surgeon needs to switch to an open surgery if laparoscopic surgery cannot be successfully continued.
Other reasons for removing the gallbladder by open surgery:
Risks of anesthesia and surgery in general are:
Risks of gallbladder surgery are:
Your may have the following tests done before surgery:
Tell your surgeon or nurse:
During the week before surgery:
On the day of surgery:
You may need to stay in the hospital for 3 to 5 days after open gallbladder removal. During that time:
If there were problems during your surgery, or if you have bleeding, a lot of pain, or a fever, you may need to stay in the hospital longer. Your surgeon or nurses will tell you how to care for yourself after you leave the hospital.
Most people recover quickly and have good results from this procedure.
Bonds M, Rocha F. Cholecystectomy techniques and postoperative problems. In: Jarnagin WR, Allen PJ, Chapman WC, et al, eds. Blumgart's Surgery of the Liver, Biliary Tract, and Pancreas. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 36.
Radkani P, Hawksworth J, Fishbein T. Biliary system. In: Townsend CM Jr, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 21st ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2022:chap 55.
BACK TO TOPReview Date: 9/9/2023
Reviewed By: Debra G. Wechter, MD, FACS, General Surgery Practice Specializing in Breast Cancer, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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06/01/2025
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