Gallstone surgery

The gallbladder is a small sac in your digestive tract responsible for storing bile juice produced by the liver. Gallstones are small-hardened deposits of cholesterol, bile pigment and calcium salts. Sometimes gallstones do not cause any problems and hence do not require any treatment. In other cases, gallstones can cause troubling symptoms and require surgical treatment.

There is no single and exact cause of gallstone formation. Researchers believe that gallstones are formed when excess cholesterol is produced by the liver. Excess cholesterol can lead to the production of cholesterol crystals that turn into stones inside the gallbladder.

• Physical exam
• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• Endoscopy
• MRI scan

Gallstones treatment is based on the type of stones, size of stones, your symptoms and your overall health. Sometimes, dietary modifications can be used to treat small-sized stones. Other methods include lithotripsy (shattering the stones with the use of high-frequency soundwaves) and surgery.

The majority of gallstones require surgical intervention as treatment. Your surgeon may remove the entire gallbladder (cholecystectomy) to treat stones. There are two ways to perform gallstone surgery:

Open gallstone surgery – In open surgery, your surgeon makes a large incision to access your gallbladder. The incision is stitched back together after the gallbladder or gallstones are removed.

Laparoscopic gallstone surgery – A laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive method to treat gallstones. In this surgery, your doctor makes several small incisions through the skin. Your surgeon inserts certain medical tools such as a laparoscope to access the gallstones.