Porcelain Gallbladder Surgery

QUESTION: My mother's physician has diagnosed her condition as a "porcelain"
gall bladder and now wants to remove it. She has no symptoms at present and I
know that surgeons take out a lot of gall bladders unnecessarily. Since she
has no problems now, do you think she needs this operation?
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ANSWER: I know that slogan "If it isn't broken, don't fix it", but it really
doesn't fit these circumstances. A porcelain gallbladder is the term used to
describe the situation where the gallbladder itself is calcified, rather than
merely containing stones. As it is now, this gall bladder cannot function in
a normal way by collecting bile, and then spilling these digestive juices into
the small intestine when they are needed, since the walls of the gallbladder
can no longer contract. In addition there is a greatly increased risk of
gallbladder cancer in this case, with the chance of it developing reaching as
high as 25%. Cancer of the gallbladder is a nasty disease, starting without
many symptoms and spreading rapidly, with a poor prognosis. In this case,
your surgeon is advising you properly, and though gallbladder surgery is high
in the United States, this is one case where it is most advisable. And I
believe most experts on this condition would agree with that advice.