What is a Gallbladder Polyp?

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Gallbladder polyps are not very uncommon. Gallbladder polyps are different from colon polyps as the latter are more likely to be cancerous whereas polyps present in gallbladder are mostly benign in nature. Gallbladder polyps are made up of muscle tissues or inflammatory tissues and cholesterol.  In fact, it has been estimated that approximately 4% of total gallbladders detected by ultrasound have evidence of polyp formation. 95% of all gallbladder polyps never leads to gallbladder cancer. 5% of the adult population gets affected by gallbladder polyps. Most of the affected individuals do not display any major symptoms. 

How are Gallbladder Polyps diagnosed?

Usually gallbladder polyps are asymptotic. They are detectable by ultrasonography examination. There is no other way of finding whether the polyps carry adenomatous characteristics or not.  Kidney stone is also one of the reasons for the abdominal pain and hence to confirm their suspicioan, doctors recommend ultrasound test. Computed tomography (CT) scans and Positron emission tomography (PET) are used to evaluate cancerous cells in gallbladder polyps.

What are the physiological features of Gallbladder Polyps?

When the gallbladder mucosal wall develops as an outgrowth, they are termed as gallbladder polyps. They are usually traced during cholecytectomy or ultrasonography. Usually, there are two types of tissues: neoplastic (abnormal mass of tissue) and hyperplastic (small polypoid nodule). More importantly, study of images does not adequately inform the presence of premalignant adenomas or gallbladder carcinoma. Benign lesions have the tendency to display symptoms similar to gallbladder stones. The detection of polyps in this way is very common, but a reliable technology to evaluate the physiological features of the cancerous cells is still not available.  

What are the different types of Gallbladder Polyps?

The classification of gallbladder polyps is based on the review conducted upon180 benign tumors during 1970. In general, polyps can be benign or malignant. Benign lesions or polyps are further classified as neoplastic and non-neoplastic. Adenoma is one of the most commonly found benign neoplastic lesions, whereas, benign mesodermal tumors such as leiomyomas and lipomas are quite uncommon. Cholesterol polyps or cholesterosis, adenomyomas or adenomyomatosis and inflammatory polps are classified under nonneoplastic lesions. Adenomyomatosis and cholesterolosis occur due to gallbladder mucosal abnormalities. These gallbladder polyps have been referred to as "hyperplastic cholecystoses". Squamous cell carcinomas, mucinous cystadenomas, and adenoacanthomas of the gallbladder occur rarely.

How are Gallbladder Polyps treated?

Cancerous gallbladder polyps (larger than 1 centimeter in size) are surgically removed. In many cases, cholecystectomy is recommended to prevent the occurrence of gallbladder cancer. Small polyps (less than 1-1.5 cm) are regularly monitored to detect suspicious changes that could lead to gallbladder cancer.

How to prevent Gallbladder Polyps?

Increased intake of low fat diet enriched with fruits, and vegetables can prevent gallbladder polyps. Try to avoid regular use of caffeine, fatty foods and alcohol as these are known to increase the gallbladder symptoms.   

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