# Simple cholecystectomy

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/simple-cholecystectomy/  
OnCo record `simple-cholecystectomy` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The standard operation to remove the gallbladder, almost always by keyhole surgery for gallstones. When a cancer is found in the removed gallbladder it is also the first, and for the earliest tumours the only, cancer operation.

## Summary

Simple cholecystectomy removes the gallbladder alone, in the UK usually laparoscopically for symptomatic gallstones or cholecystitis. Because 0.25 to 0.89 percent of specimens contain an unsuspected cancer (Soreide 2019), the operation is also how most gallbladder cancers are diagnosed. For carcinoma in situ and T1a tumours with a clear cystic duct margin it is curative, with five-year survival up to 100 percent (Soreide 2019); for T1b and deeper tumours guidelines add a second, radical operation. Whether T1b truly needs more than a simple cholecystectomy is contested: a 2026 meta-analysis of 26 cohorts found better overall but not disease-specific survival with extended surgery (Cho 2026), and 950 National Cancer Database patients showed no survival difference (median 89.5 versus 91.4 months; Rhodin 2024). Spillage of bile or perforation during the operation raises the risk of peritoneal and port-site spread when a cancer is present (Soreide 2019). More than 9,000 cholecystectomies a year are performed in Denmark alone, and whether every specimen needs histological examination is under study (Lerche-Jorgensen 2025).

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Cholecystectomy; Laparoscopic cholecystectomy; Keyhole gallbladder removal
- Tags: gallbladder; biliary

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholecystectomy
- Soreide, Br J Surg 2019: systematic review of incidental gallbladder cancer after cholecystectomy: https://doi.org/10.1002/bjs.11035
- Cho, Ann Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg 2026: extended versus simple cholecystectomy for T1b, meta-analysis: https://doi.org/10.14701/ahbps.26-091
- Rhodin, HPB 2024: simple versus radical cholecystectomy for T1b in the National Cancer Database: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpb.2024.01.012
- Lerche-Jorgensen, Dan Med J 2025: incidental gallbladder cancer in 9,698 cholecystectomies: https://doi.org/10.61409/a11240787

## Connected records

- cancers: [Carcinoma in situ and dysplasia of the gallbladder](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder-carcinoma-in-situ-and-dysplasia/), [Gallbladder adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder-adenocarcinoma/), [Gallbladder cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder/), [Incidental gallbladder cancer (found after cholecystectomy)](https://onco.cc/cancers/incidental-gallbladder-cancer/), [Papillary carcinoma of the gallbladder](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder-papillary-carcinoma/)
- terms: [Radical (extended) cholecystectomy](https://onco.cc/terms/radical-cholecystectomy/)
- technologies: [Surgery for gallbladder cancer: simple versus radical cholecystectomy, re-resection and lymphadenectomy](https://onco.cc/technologies/gallbladder-cancer-surgery/)

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