Does tumour removal surgery treat gallbladder cancer?

Gallbladder cancer may be found unexpectedly after gallbladder surgery or identified during an investigation for symptoms. If the cancer is limited and can be removed, surgery may include the gallbladder and a small amount of nearby liver tissue. More extensive surgery can involve nearby bile ducts or lymph nodes when needed to remove affected tissue.

Scans help show whether an operation is feasible and whether disease has reached areas that cannot be removed safely. The pathology report then describes the tumour and the tissue edges, helping the team decide on further treatment or follow-up.

Ask for assessment by a hepatobiliary or cancer surgery team. Take your scan and pathology reports, and ask whether the goal is to remove all visible disease or to relieve a specific problem. Discuss possible effects on digestion, bile flow and recovery, along with any treatment recommended before or after surgery. See Tumour Removal Surgery for general procedure information.

Seek medical advice for yellowing of the eyes or skin, dark urine, pale stools, persistent vomiting, worsening upper abdominal pain or a new fever. After an operation, urgent review is needed for severe pain, heavy bleeding, increasing wound redness or drainage, confusion, or sudden breathing difficulty.

What do the scans show about the liver, bile ducts and lymph nodes? What would the operation remove? Is reconstruction of the bile drainage needed? What changes to digestion should I expect? How will pathology guide the next treatment?