Cholecystectomy in Spanish

What it means

Cholecystectomy is surgery to remove the gallbladder; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) calls it one of the most common operations performed on adults in the United States. The gallbladder is an organ that sits below the liver and stores bile. NIDDK describes two types. Almost all surgeons perform cholecystectomies with laparoscopy, and many laparoscopic cholecystectomies are done on an outpatient basis, meaning you may be able to go home the same day. A surgeon performs an open cholecystectomy when the gallbladder is severely inflamed, infected, or scarred from other operations. Once the gallbladder is removed, bile flows out of the liver through the hepatic duct and common bile duct and directly into the duodenum, instead of being stored in the gallbladder.

Spanish term: Colecistectomía
Gender and article: feminine: la colecistectomía
Pronunciation: koh-leh-sees-tehk-toh-MEE-ah

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
extirpación de la vesícula biliar	General	Name used in the running text of the MedlinePlus en español article, whose title is Extirpación laparoscópica de la vesícula biliar.

Colecistectomía is a feminine noun that the Spanish dictionary labels as a medical term and defines as the surgical removal of the gallbladder, extirpación quirúrgica de la vesícula biliar. MedlinePlus en español titles its articles with the descriptive name instead: Extirpación laparoscópica de la vesícula biliar and Extirpación abierta de la vesícula biliar. It lists Colecistectomía - laparoscópica and Colecistectomía - abierta among the alternative names, and uses colecistectomía laparoscópica in running text.

The two approaches are cirugía laparoscópica and cirugía abierta. Words from the same articles: vesícula biliar (gallbladder), bilis (bile), hígado (liver), cálculos biliares (gallstones), laparoscopio (laparoscope), cortes pequeños (small cuts) and anestesia general (general anesthesia). The verb for removing the organ is extirpar, and the article also uses the shorter la vesícula; the open-surgery article says pequeñas incisiones for small incisions.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Clinician	The ultrasound shows gallstones, and I would like to talk with you about a cholecystectomy.	La ecografía muestra cálculos biliares, y quisiera hablar con usted sobre una colecistectomía.
Patient	Does that mean taking out my gallbladder?	¿Eso significa que me sacan la vesícula biliar?
Clinician	Yes, it is surgery to remove the gallbladder.	Sí, es una cirugía para extirpar la vesícula biliar.
Patient	Will it be laparoscopic surgery or open surgery?	¿Será cirugía laparoscópica o cirugía abierta?
Clinician	We plan to use a laparoscope, through small cuts in your belly.	Pensamos usar un laparoscopio, a través de cortes pequeños en el abdomen.
Patient	Will I be under general anesthesia during the operation?	¿Estaré bajo anestesia general durante la operación?
Patient	Will I go home the same day?	¿Volveré a casa el mismo día?
Clinician	Do you take any medicines, supplements or herbs?	¿Toma algún medicamento, suplemento o hierba?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Cholecystectomy
Spanish (Español)	Colecistectomía
Chinese (中文)	膽囊切除術
Korean (한국어)	담낭절제술
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Phẫu thuật cắt túi mật
Filipino (Tagalog)	Cholecystectomy
Portuguese (Português)	Colecistectomia
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	การผ่าตัดถุงน้ำดี
Japanese (日本語)	胆嚢摘出術

Where you'll see it

operative reportsurgical consent formEOBbilldischarge summary

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Digestive system

All terms in this area: Digestive system — Sistema digestivo

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.