Gall Bladder stone
What is Gall Bladder?
The gall bladder is a small bag, roughly the shape, and size of a pear that sits underneath the liver, on the right side of the abdomen. Its main purpose is to store and concentrate bile produced by the liver. Bile is released from the gallbladder after eating, aiding digestion. Bile travels through common bile ducts (CBD) into the small intestine
What is Gall Bladder stone?
Gallstone (पित्त पथरी in Hindi) is pieces of solid material that form in the gallbladder. These stones develop because cholesterol and pigments in bile sometimes form hard particles. Gallstones can cause severe pain and blockage of the bile duct. When the wall of the gallbladder is diseased then it produces stone and polyps etc. Harsh Hospital provides the best Gallbladder Stone Treatment in Surat.
The sudden inflammation of the Gall Bladder is also known as Cholecystitis. This occurs most frequently when the flow of bile is stopped or interrupted (90 percent of the time) by a stone or when the biliary tract is infected.
What are the gall bladder stone symptoms?
Gall bladder stone symptoms include severe abdominal pain often called a gallstone ‘attack’ (colic) because they occur suddenly. Gallbladder Stone attacks are common after fatty meals and can happen at any time of day or night. Although many patients with gallbladder stones have no symptoms and are considered asymptomatic, the stones are referred to as “silent stones.” Other Gallbladder Stone Symptoms include:
- Pain in the back between the shoulder blades
- Pain under the right shoulder
- Nausea or vomiting:
- Abdominal bloating (gas formation)
- Recurring intolerance to fatty foods
- Belching
- Indigestion
- Dark color urine due to jaundice
What are the types of gallstones?
The types of gallstones are :
- Cholesterol gallstones: A cholesterol gallstone, the most common form of gallstone, is frequently yellow in color. Gallstones are mostly made up of undissolved cholesterol, although they may also contain other substances.
- Pigment gallstones: When your bile contains too much bilirubin, these dark brown or black stones form.
Why Do Gallstones Form?
The reasons why gallstones may form are:
- Overweight people are more likely to get gallstones
- Excess estrogen from numerous pregnancies, hormone replacement therapy, or birth control pills may increase cholesterol levels in bile, slow down gallbladder emptying, and lead to gallstones
- Gallstones can form in people who have biliary infections
- Pigment stones are more common in people with genetic blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia
- Excessive dieting, as well as the use of some cholesterol-lowering medications, can raise the chance of gallstone formation
What are the risk factors for Gallstones?
Factors that may increase your risk of gallstones include:
- Age of 40 years or older
- Females are more prone to develop gallstones than men
- Being overweight or obese
- People with rapid/ sudden weight loss
- Pregnant women, women on hormone therapy, and those who use birth control pills for a prolonged period
- Regularly consuming a High-Fat diet
- Suffering from Diabetes
- Having liver disease
What are the Complications of Gallstones?
The complications caused by a stone in the gall bladder include:
- Severe abdominal pain or vomiting on a regular basis
- Stones have blocked the common bile duct, causing jaundice
- Acute pancreatitis (pancreatic swelling) is a serious condition that can lead to multi-organ failure and other serious complications, if it is severe, it can be fatal
- Pus formation in the gallbladder (Empyema)
- Gangrene and perforation of the gallbladder
- Cholangitis (a life-threatening infection of the biliary system)
Associated with - Cancer of the gallbladder in the long term
How to diagnose Gallstones?
The presence of gallstones can be diagnosed by:
- Blood tests
- Complete blood count
- Liver function test
- Coagulation profile
- Abdominal ultrasound or Endoscopic Ultrasound
- Cholescintigraphy (HIDA scan)
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)
What is the treatment for gallstones?
The standard treatment for gallstones or cholecystitis is recommended to be Gallbladder Surgery. A surgical procedure called Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy should be used to remove the symptomatic stones and diseased gallbladder. The gall bladder is removed using long, narrow instruments through small incisions in the belly in this treatment.
Symptomatic management:-
- Injectable or oral painkillers are used to treat pain symptoms.
- There is no medical treatment for gallstones that can cure the illness. Antibiotics, both injectable and oral, as well as supportive medications, are available to treat the infection and overcome the acute attack
Gall Bladder Surgery
Surgery to remove stones in the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is the only way to cure gallstones. This can be done by:
- Conventional (open) method
- Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy ( Gold Standard)
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
The procedure of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy is as follows:
- The surgeon punctures the abdomen with a few tiny punctures and inserts surgical instruments and a miniature telescope with a mounted video camera.
- The camera transmits a magnified image from inside the body to a video monitor, allowing the surgeon to see the organs and tissues up close.
- The surgeon uses the instruments to carefully separate the gallbladder from the liver, ducts, and vessels while watching the monitor.
- After that, the gallbladder is removed via one of the minor incisions.
- In most situations, recovery takes only a few hours in the hospital, followed by a few days of relaxation at home.
- Because there is no muscle damage (muscles are not cut) during laparoscopic surgery, patients experience less pain and have a lower risk of complications.
Treatment of Gallstone without surgery
Nonsurgical approaches are used only in special situations such as when a patient’s condition is not fit for anesthesia and surgery. This does not cure the patients as it only provides symptomatic relief.
Advantages of Gallstone surgery (Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy)
The advantages of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy are:
- The majority of patients experience minimal post-operative discomfort.
- Patients heal more quickly than those who have open gallbladder surgery.
- Exceptional cosmetic results
- Minimal pain and a quick recovery
- Resumption of normal and routine activities as soon as possible
What are the Pre-Surgery & Post-Surgery Instructions?
The Pre-surgery instructions are:-
- Some pre-operative investigations like blood tests, X-ray or ECG, and ultrasound of the gallbladder, E.R.C.P or M.R.C.P. in selective cases, are required before surgery.
- Follow your surgeon’s instructions for any prescribed medications.
The Post-surgery instructions are:-
- After a few hours of observation, the patient is transferred to the room.
- On the day of operation, the patient is allowed to ingest oral drinks.
- After surgery, the patient is allowed to move around on its own as soon as possible.
- Depending on the clinical status, the patient is usually discharged the same day or the next day after surgery.
- The port sites are covered with waterproof bandages, and the patient is free to bathe when he or she feels ready.
- The patient should return after 7 days when the dressings have been removed. A discharge summary with the recommended medication and the date of the first follow-up appointment is given to the patient at the time of discharge.
Diet after surgery
- The patient is generally allowed to sip water immediately after the operation and liquids on the day of operation. The liquids may include water/ clear soups/ tea/ coffee.
- The next day onwards, a normal diet is given and there are no specific restrictions on diet.
Exercise/ Movement
- As soon as the patient is out of anesthesia and is shifted to the room, the patient can start moving on his/her own and attend to toilet needs. In fact, movements are encouraged in most patients because this causes a dramatic reduction in pain and increases the sense of well-being. The patient is allowed to walk as soon as he/she recovers from sleep. There is no restriction on climbing stairs, or lifting the weight.
- The patient can resume his/her daily routine/ activities as he/she feels comfortable as there are no specific restrictions.
- A medication chart is provided to the patient to ensure proper compliance with prescribed medications. Ensure compliance with pain and other medications prescribed by your doctor.
- Regular follow-up is advised.
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