has anyone got or had gallbladder polyps?

Question

if you have or know anyone who's got these is there any way to find out if they are cancerouse before you have your gallbladder removed i would like to keep my gallbladder as they could just be colesteral polyps i hope

Answer 1

Good cross sectional imaging (CT) can normally differentiate between polyps and malignant tumour, primarily because of whether it appears to grow into the wall of the gall bladder and extend further.

Gall bladder polyps can become malignant, and it is always wise to have the gallbladder removed if they have been identified, as gall bladder cancer, whilst comparitively rare, is very difficult to treat. The reason for this is the reason why it is difficult to biopsy the gall bladder. It sits on the underside of the liver in most people, and any biopsy would have to go through the liver just to access it. The potential side effects of this are similar, if not more severe than that of gall bladder removal, which, in most cases, is straightforward, and again in most cases, carried out laparoscopically, which involves 3 small incisions in the abdomen.

Answer 2

I have a gallbladder polyps and have been told that an MRI scan can tell whether it is cancerous or not. I am not feeling ill at all and for this reason have been advised that if MRI confirms non malignant then an ultrasound scan every six months should determine whether it has grown and if so whether another MRI is required. As this is causing me no problems I am happy to go along with this. I hope you are not feeling ill - if so I would have gall bladder removed.

Answer 3

I see GB polyps fairly regularly in patients. Cholesterol polyps are quite distinct and bright ( with a comet tail on US) and would not be confused with cancer but small mucosal polyps are common too. I suppose every tumour has to start small but GB cancers are almost always associated with stones or GB calcification so if its only a polyp present it is unlikely to be cancer. GB cancer is very rare and not usually diagnosed until advanced. I have never known a surgeon remove a GB just for polyps but if there are sypmptoms and nothing else to explain them then the polyps are taken to indicate that the GB is inflamed - acalculous cholecystitis - and this is sometimes a reason to remove it.
Paul
www.aortascan.co.uk

Answer 4

I had a gallbladder polyp diagnosed following an (unrelated) abdominal ultrasound 5 years ago. My doctor did not feel it was a problem. I asked for a follow-up ultrasound a year later and it was unchanged. I checked many university-based medical websites and am not worried at this point.

Answer 5

I didn't have polyps, but I had stones. I had to have my gallbladder removed. If they want to remove it, I'd do it. Things go through your gallbladder first, and then your liver. If it is not going through the gallbladder right and doesn't make it to your liver, you could become very ill! Your liver cleans your blood, and if it is not getting cleaned right, it's like you have a liver disease and you get jaundice and could become very ill or die. People live perfectly fine without a gallbladder.

Answer 6

No polyps here but it was FULL of stones! The docs told me it was better just to remove my gall bladder than to remove the stones because there was a high chance the stones would just come back.

Answer 7

Get your gall bladder removed. That is the only treatment for gall bladder polyps.

Answer 8

get it removed