9 mm is larger than normal; whether it represents and emergency would
depend on other info. However, without fever or jaundice, the size
alone would not constitute an emergency. If it were large because of
blockage, and if there were infection behind the blockage, it could be
an emergency -- but there would almost certainly be fever and
jaundice. And the emergency treatment would likely be ERCP (a scope
passed into the stomach, then the duodenum, to remove the blockage)
rather than gallbladder removal. Pain alone might not be considered an
emergency; particularly if there's reason to wonder if the pain is due
to the gallbladder. Excruciating, unrelenting, steady pain from the
gallbladder is not typical; and would most often be associated with
signs of severe inflammation or infection of the gallbladder. A
gallbladder "attack" can be excruciatingly painful, but they usually
go away in a few minutes or a few hours, and don't generally
constitute a true emergency. |
