A surgical procedure that creates a permanent opening between the gallbladder and the small intestine or the body surface to allow bile to drain.
From Greek 'chole' (bile) + 'cysto-' (bladder) + 'stoma' (mouth) + '-tomy' (cutting). Named for the opening it creates.
This procedure was invented when surgeons realized some gallbladder problems couldn't be fully fixed, so they created a 'new outlet' for bile—an early example of working with the body's constraints rather than fighting them.
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