Gallstones are hard stone-like deposits of bile juice present in the gall bladder, the presence of gallstones medically is known as cholelithiasis. They are usually made of cholesterol or pigment. The size varies greatly from sand grain to that of a golf ball. They can be single (one large stone) or multiple in number (hundreds of stones). The gall bladder is a pouch-like organ just beneath the liver. Generally, gallstones are silent means that they cause no symptoms at all due to their small size but sometimes patients complain of severe pain, and many patients only this time they come to know that they have gallstones. The incidence of gallstones varies greatly from region to region and the prevalence rate ranges from 5 to 25 %.
There are mainly two types of gallstones
Some people have stones which contain both components in adequate amounts, called mixed stones.
Sign and symptoms occur when the gallstones move from their position and block the neck of the bladder, bile ducts, cystic duct or other biliary ducts. Patients complain of Pain
You should definitely seek for the doctor’s help if your pain is associated with the following features
Not all people develop bile stones but a certain group of people is at higher chances like
The mechanisms by which gallstones are formed in bile are not understood clearly but physicians know that they may form if your
Complications arise due to some blockage created by stones
Your doctor will take your medical history, perform a physical exam and some medical tests to reach a particular diagnosis
If your gallstones are causing no symptoms, you don’t need treatment. Treatment is required when they are causing any symptom
Surgical treatment has a good prognosis because complications are rare and gallstones don’t appear again but non-surgical treatment has a bad prognosis due to high chances of recurrence and very slow treatment.
This post was last modified on January 21, 2023 9:21 pm
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