Because some gallstones never cause pain most people that have gallstones don’t know they have them. At even if a physician determines that a patient has gallstones, if no symptoms are present, there’s usually no need for treatment. However, if treatment is needed and surgery (i.e., gallbladder removal) is the best option, the body soon adjusts itself to not having this organ because the body functions properly without it.
There are two main types of gallstones: cholesterol stones and pigmented stones. Interestingly enough, the type of gallstone present in individuals usually depends on their country of origin. Americans tend to have cholesterol stones whereas people from Asia are most often diagnosed with pigmented gallstones.
Gallstones comes in all sizes, from a tiny grain of sand up to just under 2 inches in diameter, or the size of a standard golf ball. The number of gallstones found in each patient differs as well. People can have one large gallstone or several small ones. Large gallstones tend to remain in one place whereas smaller gallstones have been known to move around.
About 80% of the gallstones found in Americans are cholesterol stones. These stones develop as the result of three main factors: too much bilirubin (a brownish substance that gives stool its brown color); too much cholesterol, or an inadequate quantity of bile salts, substances which are produced by the liver and located in the gall bladder and help the body absorb certain food substances. When cholesterol stones make their way into the duct that leads into the pancreas they can sometimes cause pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).
The least prevalent type of gallstones found in Americans are pigment stones. These stones tend to be brown or black and are made up of calcium and bilirubin. Pigment stones can develop when too much bilirubin is produced. People with cirrhosis of the liver or hereditary blood diseases are at higher risks for developing pigment stones because their bodies tend to shed itself of red blood cells too quickly, which in turn leads to an large buildup of bilirubin.
Gallstones can harden over time and become calcified. Calcification occurs when the stones contain an inordinate amount of calcium substances. Calcified gallstones can sometimes become so dense that they’re visible on regular x-rays.
Biliary sludge, a thickened protein found in the gallbladder often accompanied by tiny cholesterol crystals, sometimes serves as an early indicator for gallstones. The most common symptom of biliary sludge is abdominal pain often accompanied by nausea or vomiting. This occurs because the sludge particles obstruct the ducts that lead from the gallbladder to the intestine. In some instances biliary sludge can cause serious health problems, like the inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) or inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis). Biliary sludge is more commonly found in pregnant women, individuals who have experienced rapid weight loss or engage in prolonged fasting, or in patients that have been fed intravenously for prolonged periods of time.
Gallstones can sometimes be treated by having the stones themselves removed (endoscopic surgery) or by being dissolved. The symptoms of gallstones can sometimes be minimized by an adjustment in one’s diet. However, the most common and permanent procedure for removing gallstones is gallbladder removal surgery. As recently as ten years ago this required the surgeon to make a 5″-8″ incision in the abdominal area through which the gallbladder was removed. Presently, most gallbladders are removed laparoscopically, which just requires 4 small incisions through which tiny instruments (a small scope with a camera, a small scope with a cutting tool) are placed. This type of surgery greatly reduces the patient’s hospital stay - many patients return home a few hours after the surgery. Recovery time is also reduced. Approximately 500,000 Americans have their gallbladders removed each year making this surgical procedure one of the most common in the U.S.
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By: Scarlett Moore
Scarlett Moore has written several articles on diagnosing gallstones and gall bladder surgery recovery practices.