About Gall Bladder Stones :
Gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ, located at the upper right part of the abdomen below the liver.
The role of the gall bladder is to store the yellow coloured liquid called bile juice that helps in proper digestion.
Whenever there is excessive cholesterol deposit, it gets hardened and forms Gallstones. These are of varying sizes ranging from the size of a grain to the size of a go
Types of Gall Bladder Stones :
There are basically Two Types of Gallstones :
- Cholesterol stones: Usually yellow-green in color, they are the most common gallstones found. Excessive concentration of bile in gall bladder leads to formation of yellow cholesterol stones.
- Pigment stones: Small and darker ones, these stones are formed of bilirubin. Bilirubin comes from bile which is produced by the liver and gets stored in the gallbladder.
Gall Bladder Stone Symptoms :
In most cases (75%), gallbladder stones show no signs or symptoms.
Often, gallstones do not show any symptoms, but when it gets stuck in the duct, it can cause blockage. In that case, you can experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- Sudden acute pain in the upper right side of the abdomen
- Back pain between the shoulder blades
- Pain in the right shoulder
- Nausea/vomiting
- Dark urine
- Burping
- Diarrhoea
- Indigestion/acidity
How are Gallstones Treated?
Commonly, Gallstones require no treatment unless they cause severe symptoms like pain, and vomiting etc. Surgery is recommended in severe cases.
a.) Surgery :
- Laparoscopic Gallbladder Removal : During this procedure, the surgeon will make 3-4 incisions in your abdomen. Through these incisions, a small, lighted device is inserted to carefully remove the gallbladder. The patient isrelieved on the same day of the procedure if no further complication is seen.
b.) Nonsurgical Treatments :
- Medication : Due to advanced surgical procedures using laparoscopic and robotic techniques, surgeries are a lot easier and successful these days. Still, if you are not a candidate for surgery due to certain medical complications, doctors may prescribe a few medications that help dissolve these gallstones. But, medications are not commonly recommended as they are not much effective in treating this problem and take years to show results.