Gallstones symptoms, diagnosis and its treatment, explained.

March 24, 2022

If you are looking for gallstones treatment, look no further. Sehgal Neo Hospital, offers state of the art laparoscopic treatment for gallstone removal, which involves minimal cuts, shorter hospital stay and quicker recovery. Look out for the symptoms below, and contact your family physician, if you identify any of these symptoms and require medical care.

What is Gallbladder?

The gallbladder is a small pouch that is placed right below the liver and collects bile juice, which helps with the digestion, as it flows from the liver to the intestine with the help of bile ducts. Gallstones are hardened bile bits, which are formed inside the gallbladder when cholesterol or bilirubin particles stick together to form a solid knob. It can grow in size over a period of time when the bile juice goes over it, very much like how oysters make pearls. Most gallstones don`t show any symptoms and small stones pass the body through the intestines.

Gallstones can cause symptoms if they get caught in the drainage of the gallbladder. It can be very extremely painful if the gallbladder squeezes against a gallstone, or if a gallstone blocks bile from being released into the intestines. A person can get very sick if the stones get stuck into the drainage-duct system and doesn’t pass through the intestines. This can cause blockage and a collection of bile in the gallbladder or liver, leading to infection and pancreatitis.

Gallstones are quite commonplace and are more likely to take place among older people, obese, and those who lose weight quickly. Identify these symptoms; 80% people with gallstones do not show any symptoms and do not require medical care.

  • Severe abdominal pain, usually high on the right side and can radiate towards the backside, and can last from fifteen minutes to a few hours

  • Fats trigger the gallbladder to contract and can worsen pain, so if you’re sensitive to fatty foods, you might have a gallstone problem

  • Sudden gas, nausea, or decreased appetite

Most gallstones do not show up on regular X-rays, but can be identified with an ultrasound. Gallstones require treatment only if they cause the above symptoms. Smaller gallstones sometimes pass through the body in feces.

Most people with gallstones shall face the symptoms and they will continue to them until the gallbladder is removed, though treatment to break up the stones may also be used. Surgical treatment for gallstones is extremely effective in most people, as the symptoms go away completely and stay away.

The gallbladder is not a very vital organ and many people do not notice any changes after it is removed, clinicians prefer surgery over other treatment options as stones are likely to form again if the gallbladder is not removed. Speak with our expert clinicians at SNH to learn more about Gallstones!