Simple cholecystectomy

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).