Complications of the inflammation of the gall bladder

  • Cholangitis and Cholestasis
  • Postcholecystectomy syndrome
  • Recurrences
  • Gall bladder hydrops and gall bladder emypem
  • Perforation and peritonitis
  • Sepsis
  • Pancreatitis
  • Gallstone Ileus
  • Tumors

In addition to the inflammation of the gallbladder itself, it is not uncommon for there to be synchronous inflammation of the bile ducts, also known as cholangitis. Chronic or recurrent inflammation leads to scarring and narrowing (stenosis) of the bile ducts, which can lead to cholestasis (backflow of bile). Since the liver is the producer of bile, a backlog can cause lasting damage and in rare cases lead to liver failure.

On the subject of liver diseasesThe term postcholescystectomy syndrome refers to abdominal complaints that either reoccur, recur or even existed before the operation following a gall bladder removal. About 20 – 40% of patients complain about such complaints postoperatively. The cause is not necessarily related to the loss of the gallbladder and its function.

In some cases, the cause can be psychosomatic. Furthermore, the cause may be that stones were left behind when the gallbladder was removed (residual stones) or that the stones have re-formed despite the gallbladder no longer being present (recurrent stones). As a result of the operation, bile duct strictures, dysfunctions of the sphincter or stenoses of the bile duct system can occur. Another cause of the complaints should always be clarified, e.g. inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach (gastritis), inflammation of the oesophagus due to reflux of gastric juice (reflux esophagitis), stomach or intestinal ulcers (ulcer), chronic pancreatitis or malignancies (malignant tumor).

3. recurrences

A high recurrence rate is to be expected in the case of shattered gallstones or those removed by ERCP. If the cause of stone formation is not treated, new formation can be expected after removal, which in turn can lead to repeated inflammation. Gall-bladder hydrops occurs when the outflow of bile into the small intestine is prevented (congestive gall bladder) with continued production of mucus due to inflammation of the gall bladder or bile ducts, stones, scarring, tumors or disturbances in the movement (dyskinesia) of the bile system. Simultaneous bacterial colonization can lead to pus formation and thus to empyema. A dreaded complication is a perforation.