Gallbladder conditions in dogs

The gallbladder stores bile, a digestive fluid produced by the liver.

In dogs, several conditions can affect the gallbladder, the most important being:

​

• Gallbladder mucoceles (very common)

• Gallstones (cholelithiasis)

• Gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis)

• Gallbladder rupture (life-threatening)

• Obstruction of the bile duct (extrahepatic biliary obstruction)

While early or mild disease may sometimes be medically managed, surgery (typically cholecystectomy — removal of the gallbladder) is the recommended and often life-saving treatment for the majority of significant gallbladder disorders in dogs.

Dogs do very well without a gallbladder, as bile simply flows directly from liver to intestine