Years after cancer treatment, many people follow a regular schedule of upper endoscopy and colonoscopy. Polyps are often found and removed during those exams. So when severe abdominal pain begins a day or two later, it feels natural to blame the procedure, simply because it is the most recent event. But the body does not always follow a tidy timeline, and an unrelated problem can start at nearly the same moment.
Some discomfort after polyp removal is expected: bloating from residual air, or a dull ache at the resection site, usually settling within a day or two. Other events are different in kind. Post-polypectomy coagulation syndrome, in which the bowel wall becomes inflamed after cautery, delayed bleeding several days later, and the rare perforation all cause pain that persists or worsens rather than fading.
Acute cholecystitis is another possibility worth keeping in mind. When a gallstone blocks the cystic duct, bile cannot drain, and inflammation or infection follows. Typical signals include intense pain in the upper right abdomen or below the breastbone, pain radiating to the right shoulder or back, shaking chills followed by fever, cold sweats, and nausea. Pain often begins at night or after a fatty meal, and it may ease briefly before returning, which makes it easy to dismiss.
Abdominal ultrasound is usually the first test, with CT and blood work (white cell count, CRP, liver enzymes, bilirubin) added as needed. Early symptoms overlap with many conditions, so a first visit may reasonably end with watchful waiting. What matters most is what happens next. Pain that does not improve over several days, chills or fever, difficulty standing upright, or yellowing of the eyes or dark urine are reasons to be reassessed promptly, including through an emergency department. Describing the timeline of how symptoms changed helps the clinical team more than describing severity alone.
The standard treatment is gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy), performed relatively early when the person's condition allows. When inflammation is severe or surgery would be risky, a tube may first be placed into the gallbladder through the skin and liver to drain trapped bile and pus, a procedure called percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD). It is typically done under local anesthesia, and pain often eases quickly once the pressure is relieved. This is not an abandonment of surgery but a way to buy time so that an operation can be done under safer conditions, sometimes weeks to a few months later.
Living with a drain is more manageable with a few habits: secure the tube so it cannot be tugged or kinked, note the daily volume and color of the output, and confirm bathing and dressing instructions before discharge. Contact the care team without waiting for the next appointment if output suddenly stops, the skin around the tube becomes red, swollen, or painful, fever or pain returns, or the tube appears to have shifted or come out.
A history of gastric surgery adds another consideration. Gallstones may occur more often after gastrectomy because of altered gallbladder motility and bile flow, and adhesions from earlier open surgery can make a laparoscopic approach more difficult, which sometimes changes the surgical plan or the choice of hospital. When transferring care, bring imaging discs and reports, prior operative notes, the drainage procedure record, recent labs, and a current medication list, especially blood thinners.
Feeling frustrated or losing trust after diligently keeping up with screening is an understandable reaction. It can help to separate two tasks: revisiting what happened, and getting the body safely through the current problem. Remaining questions can be raised calmly at the next visit, with records in hand.
This article is general health information for understanding only and does not replace individual diagnosis or treatment. Symptoms and management differ from person to person, so please discuss any decisions with your own medical team.