“How do you know if your gallbladder needs to be removed?”

Unless you have a dramatic history of gallbladder disease in you family, you are too young to have gallstones. Not impossible.
I would need to know more about your type of pain and then start with an abdominal ultrasound which is a good, easy, cheap and non- invasive test to do.

You need to get worked up by a pediatric GI. You are very young and although we don't need our gallbladder to survive you really should try to hold on to it as long as possible. Most of the time gallbladder issues are associated to diet - we are not eating and drinking as healthy as we should. Get worked up and find out if there is anything serious going on with it first. Then if not try to clean up your diet.

First, you need to know if gallstones are present. If there are stones and the pain is characteristic of biliary colic, then surgery can be considered. This is an elective surgery and the timing and necessity of it must be discussed with the surgeon. If no stones are in the gallbladder, then one must be very careful because it is much more difficult to blame the gallbladder for pain in the absence of stones.

The symptoms for a gallbladder problem and a stomach problem are very similar. I would see a gastroenterologist first before seeing a surgeon. It could be your stomach and you may not need to have it removed at all.

In general, there are several reasons to have a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) performed. The most common reason is the combination of right upper abdominal cramping pain (biliary colic) and an ultrasound that shows gallstones in the gallbladder. Another reason would be a person who experiences biliary colic without gallstones, but a HIDA scan showing a lazy or overactive gallbladder. This is called biliary dyskinesia. It is important to understand that a poorly functioning gallbladder is common but that an overactive gallbladder can cause biliary pain as well. There are also other reasons to undergo a cholecystectomy. Without too many details, some people who have polyps of the gallbladder, calcium in the wall of the gallbladder, sickle cell anemia patients, may need a cholecystectomy.
I hope this helps.

Clifford Carrol

If your biliary pain at the right upper quadrant or epigastric with radiation to the back, usually post-prandial, supported by an abdominal sonogram displaying gallstones and/or thickened gallbladder. You should be referred to an experienced surgeon for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.