November 24, 2021
Category: health and 1 Other
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The gallbladder is a small organ located under your liver, and Gallstones are little pieces of some solid material that settle down in your gallbladder, which doctors call Cholelithiasis. The gall bladder mainly stores the bile juice, a biochemical substance used to break down fats during the digestion process. Bile also carries some waste substances like cholesterol and bilirubin that are formed during the breakdown of RBC. Gallstones are created by the settlement of these waste substances only. Small gallstones can be passed through the body by themselves, but the bigger ones may need gallstone surgery. However, the size of a gallstone can be like that of small grain or as big as a golf ball. You may not even know that you have them until they block the bile duct and start causing pain. But once the pain begins, you may need to see the doctor right away. Let us know about the treatment methods that doctors may recommend to you, which you should go for and their consequences. Firstly, let us know how the condition is diagnosed in the first place, then move on to the treatment.
Diagnosis of Gallstone
At first, the doctor does a physical exam, and after that, he may suggest you get some tests done. These tests may include –
Blood test – Blood tests are done to check the presence of infections or blockage and identify other conditions if they exist.
Ultrasound/CT Scan/MRCP – To get the visuals of the insides of the body.
Cholescintigraphy – A harmless radioactive material makes its way through the organ to check whether it squeezes correctly or not.
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography – An endoscope is run through your mouth to your small intestine with a dye to inject on your bile ducts and see them through the camera planted on the endoscope. They often remove the gallstone if it is moved into the vents with the endoscope, decreasing the chances of gall stone operation. Endoscopic ultrasound – The ultrasound and endoscopy techniques are combined to perform the test to look for the gallstone.
Methods to treat them
If you don’t have symptoms, you may not need treatment because your body can let pass some small gallstones on its own. But when the gall stone is severe, the doctor may ask you to get it removed through the surgery, called a cholecystectomy. This is of two types –
- Gallstones laparoscopic surgery
- Gallstones open surgery
Laparoscopic surgery is done in a minimally invasive manner, while open surgery includes a large single incision. However, laparoscopic surgery is considered convenient; both come with circumstances that may depend on patient to patient and their different medical conditions. Below is a quick look at both types.
Gallstone Laparoscopic surgery – Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery, scientifically termed as cholecystectomy, is the surgical method to remove gallstone (or the entire gallbladder in more complicated conditions) through several small incisions (cuts) in the abdomen. Meanwhile, your abdomen is flattened with air or carbon dioxide so that the doctor can look through it. A lighted scope is inserted through one of these cuts, which is connected to a video camera. The connected video monitor is then used to guide the surgeon while inserting the medical instruments. General anaesthesia is given, which lasts for up to 2 hours. After this gall stone surgery, you may need to stay in hospital for 1-2 days, and you can get back to your routine within 7-10 days of surgery. The fun fact is that patients who have gone through laparoscopic surgery experience more minor discomfort after the surgery than those who have gone through open surgery. However, it comes with risks like internal bleeding, injury to the common bile duct, and risk of general anaesthesia, risk of injury to other internal organs or infection of the incision.
Gallstone Open Surgery – In this kind of surgery, the gallbladder or gallstone is removed through a large single cut in the abdomen. The surgery lasts for 1-2 hours, and general anaesthesia works well. The incision is done under the last right rib cage or in the middle of the upper abdomen. In most cases, doctors switch to open surgery after trying their hands at the laparoscopic gall stone operation first. Or conditions such as internal inflammation, high BP, pregnancy, major bleeding or abnormal anatomy may require you to opt for open surgery rather than laparoscopic surgery.
Conclusion!
If we compare both the surgeries, you cannot decide the best type because different factors determine which type of surgery is right for you, such as the size of the gallstone, the risk of complications, the surgeons’ skills, your surgery budget, your medical history and overall health. It would be best to talk to your physician about all these factors and every little concern you have regarding your gallstone. Your surgeon will help you the best to decide which surgery would be the best fit in your case.