New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS): A team of doctors at Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow has removed a rare giant gallbladder, sized over 15 cm, from a 35-year-old woman, giving her a new lease of life.

Shalini Tiwari reported to the hospital with severe pain in the abdomen. Her ultrasound revealed a gallstone disease -- hardened deposits in the gall bladder. During her surgery, the doctors found that besides gallstones, her gall bladder was giant.

“Per operatively we found out the patient has a giant gallbladder, that is more than 15 cm in size. The normal size of the gallbladder is about 7-8 cm. The surgery called giant cholecystectomy is rare. Only 9 cases have to date been reported worldwide,” Dr. Suramya Pandey, general surgeon at Lucknow Civil Hospital, told IANS on Saturday.

The patient was managed efficiently by the team. And the surgery went uneventfully, said the doctor.

Pandey noted that Tiwari was discharged after five days, without any post-operative complications.

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that sits just below the liver on the upper right side of the abdomen. It collects and stores a digestive fluid made in the liver called bile.

Giant gallbladder is a rare condition that can be caused by cholecystitis -- a redness and swelling (inflammation) of the gallbladder, gallstones, gallbladder cancer, or other diseases. It can develop in patients of any age and can mimic an abdominal tumour.

People with gallbladder problems can experience a sudden, severe, and sharp pain in the upper right abdomen, or the center of the abdomen just below the breastbone. They can also suffer from back pain between the shoulder blades, and pain in the right shoulder, among others.