2023 Medical Science Popularization - Gallbladder Polyps

Gallbladder polyps are bulge-like lesions that originate from the gallbladder wall and grow into the gallbladder cavity. Most of them have no symptoms and are often found during physical examinations; a few may have abdominal distension, abdominal pain, discomfort in the right upper abdomen, loss of appetite, aversion to greasy food, radiating pain in the shoulders and back, etc.

The occurrence of gallbladder polyps may be related to chronic cholecystitis, gallstones and cholesterol metabolism disorders. Ultrasound is the main and preferred means of examination. The typical manifestation is high or low echoes attached to the wall of the gallbladder cavity, without sound shadows, and does not move with changes in body position.

Gallbladder polyps are mostly benign lesions. Generally speaking, for those with a diameter less than 5mm, or those with a diameter of 5-10mm but without any clinical manifestations, an ultrasound examination every 3-6 months is sufficient. If the polyp increases significantly in a short period of time or the symptoms suddenly become obvious and regular, timely surgery is required; if the polyp is larger than 10mm, even if there are no symptoms, the possibility of cancer is as high as 70~80%, and surgical resection is the best choice; in addition, regardless of the size of the polyp, if the base is wide (which can be understood as a large and firm root) or accompanied by gallstones, recurrent acute and chronic cholecystitis, etc., the risk of cancer is also relatively high, and active surgical treatment is very necessary.

Gallbladder polyps are one of the predisposing factors for gallbladder cancer, and the malignancy and development speed of gallbladder cancer are both unexpected, and the prognosis is often very poor. Therefore, once it is found that it has a tendency to become malignant, surgery must be performed decisively to prevent future problems.

The treatment of gallbladder polyps is mainly surgical resection, with a good prognosis; however, if the pathological diagnosis is malignant, the next step is to treat it as gallbladder cancer. In addition, ablation therapy can also be used in some cases, but it must be performed by an experienced interventional physician.

[Dietary recommendations for patients with gallbladder polyps] Patients with gallbladder polyps should eat more low-fat, low-cholesterol foods, such as mushrooms, fungus, celery, kelp, lotus root, fish, chicken, etc., and more soy products and foods rich in vitamins, such as bean sprouts, green vegetables, carrots, tomatoes, corn, etc. Eat as little high-fat, high-cholesterol foods as possible, such as fried greasy foods, dried fruits, nuts, eggs, etc.