The gallbladder is an organ adjacent to the liver just below the liver. Recently, with a lot of abdominal ultrasonography, the frequency has increased, such as being found in 3-7% of normal adults.
Gallbladder polyps can be largely classified into non-neoplastic and neoplastic, and non-neoplastic polyps, cholesterol polyps, are the most common with a frequency of 46-70%. Cholesterol polyps are small, less than 10 mm in size, and are often multiple. Neoplastic polyps include benign adenomas and malignant polyps, which are usually larger than 10 mm in size. The frequency of malignant polyps is about 3-8%.
In general, gallbladder polyps have few symptoms, but rarely, symptoms such as abdominal pain may occur. In other words, symptoms similar to cholelithiasis may appear, but the possibility of gallstones or malignant polyps should be considered. In addition, the possibility of malignant polyps should be taken into account when weight loss is present. It is very easy to detect gallbladder polyps by ultrasound of the abdomen. However, biopsy is impossible, so endoscopic ultrasonography may be necessary to determine whether it is malignant.
Gallbladder polyps are a very common disease, and only adenomas and malignant polyps require surgical treatment to remove the gallbladder. The most common cholesterol polyps do not require treatment. In addition, unlike gallstones, gallbladder polyps do not cause symptoms, so it is important to diagnose and operate malignant polyps at an early stage. Although laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed simply, laparoscopic resection cannot be performed if a malignant polyp is left unattended and develops into advanced gallbladder cancer.
The treatment strategy for polyps is to select and operate on patients with high potential for malignant polyps. Until now, surgery is recommended for gallbladder polyps larger than 10 mm. In addition, if the age is 50 years or older and gallstones are present, surgery can be considered even if the size is 10 mm or less. Non-neoplastic polyps such as cholesterol polyps rarely change in size and do not progress to malignancy, so they do not require special treatment and do not cause special complications.
Since obesity is a risk factor for cholesterol polyps, weight management is important, and it is important to check it regularly and detect it early. Even if the size of a gallbladder polyp is less than 10 mm, the possibility of a malignant polyp cannot be completely excluded, so follow-up examination is necessary. In general, when a gallbladder polyp is first diagnosed, it is generally recommended to perform an ultrasound examination every 3 to 6 months for the first 1 to 2 years to observe changes in size. .
