“The intent of this study was to determine if cholecystectomy improved symptoms in patients with a hyperkinetic gallbladder when compared to those who did not undergo surgical intervention and if there were variables predictive of symptom improvement with or
without cholecystectomy. The hypothesis was that patients with possible biliary symptoms coupled with a hyperkinetic HIDA evaluation could be alleviated by cholecystectomy.”

“This study describes outcomes of patients found to have hyperkinetic gallbladder function in a large hospital system over 12 years. The incidence of this finding is 15.7% over this time period. Concurrent cholelithiasis was identified in a subset of patients, making the isolated
finding of gallbladder hyperkinesia 13.5%. This finding is reported as normal by the radiologist 96% of the time.
Since it is not routinely reported to patients, referral to surgeons for consideration of cholecystectomy is variable. In most cases, patients were not referred and thus not
offered surgical treatment. Even in the surgical community, there is no agreement on the benefit of cholecystectomy for patients with biliary hyperkinesia. Interestingly, in our study, out of the 7 HIDA scans that were read as abnormal, 3 of these patients were referred to a surgeon and ultimately underwent cholecystectomy.”

Williford ML, Fay KT, Simpson FJ, Defnet AM, Schuster DM, Sethi I, Lin E, Davis SS Jr. Optimal Management of the Hyperkinetic Gallbladder: A Comparison of Outcomes Between Operative and Nonoperative Approaches. Am Surg. 2021 Jun;87(6):903-909. Full Text for Emory Users