Gallstones and Gallbladder Disease - Resources

Other Procedures

Percutaneous Cholecystostomy. Percutaneous cholecystostomy is a procedure that may be used in seriously ill patients with severe gallbladder infection who cannot tolerate immediate surgery. It is also the standard treatment for patients with acalculous cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation without stones). This procedure uses a needle to withdraw fluid from (aspirate) the gallbladder. A drainage catheter is inserted through the skin and into the gallbladder while the fluid drains out. In some cases, the catheter may be left in place for up to 8 weeks. After that time, if possible, laparoscopy or an open cholecystectomy may be performed. Without a laparoscopy, recurrence rates with this procedure are high.

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Gallbladder Aspiration. With this procedure, fluid is removed while the gallbladder is viewed using ultrasound. It does not require leaving a catheter in the abdomen afterward, and may have fewer complications than percutaneous cholecystostomy.

Investigative Procedures

Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES). A new procedure may enable surgeons to remove the gallbladder with less pain and a faster recovery time than conventional laparoscopic surgery. In the NOTES procedure, doctors pass an endoscope through a natural opening in the body (such as the vagina in the case of the gallbladder), and then through an internal incision in the stomach, vagina, bladder, or colon. There are no external incisions. This procedure is still considered investigational.

Review Date: 06/10/2010
Reviewed By: Reviewed by: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).