Your gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ on the right side of your abdomen, just beneath your liver. The gallbladder stores a digestive fluid called bile from the liver that is then released into your duodenum and helps your body break down fat.

Gallstones can be completely symptom-free. A gallstone may cause a blockage, where you might show signs of the following symptoms:

• Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the upper Midline or upper right portion of your abdomen
• Back pain between your shoulder blades
• Pain in your right shoulder
• Nausea or vomiting
• Gallstone pain may last several minutes to a few hours.

Patients with symptomatic gallstones can have inflammation, blockage of your pancreatic duct causing pancreatitis, which can be fatal, or cause blockage of common bile duct causing jaundice and sometimes sepsis. The most common treatment for patients with symptomatic gallstones is surgery to remove your gallbladder.

Cholecystitis is the medical term for inflammation of the gallbladder. The most common cause is gallstones that block the tube that exits your gallbladder.  It’s essential to seek treatment for gallbladder inflammation. Left untreated, the condition can lead to infection, tears in your gallbladder, or gangrene, which is the death of tissue. There are conservative treatments that can help, but most men and women who suffer from cholecystitis eventually need to have their gallbladder removed to find lasting relief.

Biliary dyskinesia is a condition in which your gallbladder cannot properly squeeze bile into your bile ducts.

Gallbladder surgery is done laparoscopically, which requires three to four tiny incisions. It is an outpatient procedure done under anesthesia in a laparoscopic suite with cameras and monitors to view the screen’s surgery. An X-ray is performed to get additional insight into the condition of your bile duct.