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Cholecystitis - Medical Negligence Compensation
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Cholecystitis is an acute inflammation of the gallbladder that is usually affected by bacteria that results in abdominal pain and sometimes a fever. It is a common condition, especially in women.
Cholecystitis is caused by gallstones in the gallbladder that block the bile ducts and cause a backup of bile into the gallbladder. Sometimes tumors of the gallbladder can cause this blockage and having a severe illness can cause gallbladder symptoms. When bile builds up in the gallbladder, it irritates the lining of the gallbladder and puts extra pressure on the gallbladder wall. Bacteria can come up through the biliary system and can result in infection of the gall bladder wall. The extra pressure can result in a perforation of the gallbladder.
Risk factors for gallbladder cancer include being a woman and being of older age. Obesity can trigger cholecystitis as well.
Symptoms of acute cholecystitis include severe abdominal pain that occurs in the right side of the abdomen or in the upper middle portion of the abdomen. It can be a sharp pain, a dull pain or a cramping type of pain. The pain can come and go and can be worse after eating food. The pain can spread to the right shoulder blade in the back of the body and often worsens right after consuming a meal. Other symptoms include abdominal bloating, clay or light-colored stools, a low fever, nausea, vomiting and jaundice of the skin.
Doctors can examine the gallbladder to see if there is acute cholecystitis. An amylase and lipase level can tell if there is inflammation of the pancreas as well. A bilirubin level can tell if there is backup of bile and liver involvement. A CBC can tell if there is inflammation or infection in the bloodstream. Liver function tests can tell if the liver has become inflamed as a result of the inflammation of the nearby gallbladder.
Doctors can do imaging studies to assess the gallbladder, its size and whether or not there are gallstones in the bladder. This can include an abdominal ultrasound, a CT scan of the abdomen, an x-ray of the abdomen (which may show gallstones) or a test called an oral cholecystogram. You can have a radionuclide scan of the gallbladder, which uses small amount of radioactive substances that collect in the gallbladder and can define its size and the presence of stones.
There are excellent treatments for cholecystitis, especially if you treat the cholecystitis as soon as you have the appropriate symptoms. You will be given IV fluids and IV antibiotics to help kill the infection. Most often these are temporary measures and surgery to remove the gallbladder is recommended as soon as you are stable enough for surgery. Pain medication and a low fat diet can help reduce the effects of the gallbladder inflammation. If there is gangrene of the gallbladder, a perforation of the gallbladder, pancreatitis or an inflammation of the bile ducts, the surgery needs to be done urgently as these are bad complications of gallbladder infections.
Sometimes, the gallbladder is drained via a tube through the skin if the patient is very ill and cannot yet tolerate a surgery. The surgery can be done as an open abdominal surgery but is usually done via a laparoscope that uses a metal cannula and instruments at the end of the tube that remove the gallbladder through a small hole in the abdomen.
The prognosis of cholecystitis is very good once the gallbladder is removed. Complications can include pus in the gallbladder called an empyema. There can be gangrene of the gallbladder, pancreatitis, inflammation of the bile ducts and inflammation of the lining of the abdomen, called peritonitis.
If you are prone to gallbladder attacks, you should consider eating a low fat diet and eventually having your gallbladder removed. It is the removal of the gallbladder that seems to make the situation completely resolved.
Gallbladder radionuclide Treatment