Abstract
The manifestation of gallbladder disease varies widely in terms of symptoms, clinical signs and severity. Gallstones, for example, affect 10–15% of the adult population, equating to more than 5 million people in the UK. Indeed, gallbladder calculi are the most common abdominal problem leading to hospital admission. In addition, the cholecystectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures, with 50 000 per year in the UK. This article aims to summarize gallbladder diseases including congenital gallbladder disorders, gallbladder calculi, their sequelae and gallbladder cancer.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Afdhal
N.H.
Acute cholangitis . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/4459&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
2.
Afdhal
N.H.
Approach to the patient with incidental gallstones . In
Basow
D.S.
(eds) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/8759&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
3.
Afdhal
N.H.
Epidemiology of and risk factors for gallstones . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/5497&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
4.
Beckingham
I.J.
ABC of diseases of liver, pancreas, and biliary system: Gallstone disease . British Medical Journal (2001 ) 322 : p. 91 –4 .
5.
Khan
S.A.
Davidson
B.R.
Goldin
R.
Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of cholangiocarcinoma . Gut (2002 ) 51 (suppl 6 ) VI1 –9 Accessed via www.bsg.org.uk/pdf_word_docs/cholangiocarcinoma.pdf [date last accessed 23.01.2009].
6.British Society of Gastroenterology Guidelines on the management of acute pancreatitis . Gut (2005 ) 54 : p. 1 –9 Accessed via www.bsg.org.uk/pdf_word_docs/pancreatic.pdf [date last accessed 23.01.2009].
7.
Caddy
G.
Tham
T.
Symptoms, diagnosis and endoscopic management of common bile duct stones . Best Practice and Research Clinical Gastroenterology (2006 ) 20 (6 ): p. 1085 –101 .
8.
Ellis
H.
Calne
R.
Watson
C.
Lecture notes on general surgery (10th edition
2002 ) Oxford : Blackwell ISBN: 0–632-06371–8.
9.General Practice Notebook . Gallbladder disease (surgically treatable) Accessed via www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=-898957282 [date last accessed 23.01.2009].
10.
Gurusamy
K.S.
Samraj
K.
Early versus delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis . Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews (2006 ) 4 : p. CD005440 .
11.
Lissauer
T.
Clayden
G.
Illustrated textbook of paediatrics (2nd edition
2001 ) Edinburgh : Mosby ISBN: 0–723-43178–7.
12.
Lowe
R.C.
Afdhal
N.H.
Anderson
C.
Epidemiology; pathogenesis; and classification of cholangiocarcinoma . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/5864&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
13.
Nunes
D.
Nonsurgical treatment of gallstone disease . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/7894&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
14.
Nunes
D.
Patient selection for the nonsurgical treatment of gallstone disease . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/6427&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
15.
Raftery
AT.
Delbridge
M.S.
Basic science for the MRCS (2006 ) Edinburgh : Churchill Livingstone ISBN: 0–443-10109–4.
16.RCGP Curriculum statement 15.2 : Digestive problems . Accessed via www.rcgp-curriculum.org.uk/PDF/curr_15_2_Digestive_problems.pdf [date last accessed 23.01.2009].
17.
Sanders
G.
Kingsnorth
A.
Gallstones . British Medical Journal (2007 ) 335 : p. 295 –99 .
18.
Wanebo
H.J.
Savarese
D.M.F.
Gallbladder cancer: Epidemiology, risk factors, clinical features, and diagnosis . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=gicancer/17390&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
19.
Williams
E.J.
Green
J.
Beckingham
I.
Parks
R.
Martin
D.
Lombard
M.
Guidelines on the management of common bile duct stones (CBDS) . Gut (2008 ) 57 : p. 1004 –21 . Accessed via www.bsg.org.uk/pdf_word_docs/cbds_08.pdf [date last accessed 23.01.2009].
20.
Zakko
S.F.
Uncomplicated gallstone disease . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/16976&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
21.
Zakko
S.F.
Afdhal
N.H.
Clinical features and diagnosis of acute cholecystitis . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/6853&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].
22.
Zakko
S.F.
Afdhal
N.H.
Treatment of acute cholecystitis . In
Basow
D.S.
(ed) UpToDate (2008 ) Waltham : UpToDate . Accessed via www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=biliaryt/8379&view=print [date last accessed 1.12.2008].