Don't Let Gallbladder Stones Get in the Way of Your Life!

 Intense pain after consuming your food! Constant bloat! A nagging ache in your side!

The majority of individuals tend to ignore these symptoms, considering them a normal sign of acidity or indigestion. However, in reality, all these may be symptoms of gallstones, i.e., an ailment associated with the gallbladder. Though extremely common, ignoring these may lead you towards a painful and difficult life ahead.  

At Genesis Hospital, we specialize in treating gallstone disease with utmost care and expertise. Providing unparalleled treatment services since 2004, all procedures are performed under the expert supervision of Dr. Purnendu Roy, MD. With state-of-the-art medical infrastructure and highly skilled medical personnel, we guarantee safe and effective treatment procedures.

 

Understanding Gallbladder Stones

 

Gallstones are hard particles formed within the gallbladder due to crystallization of components in bile fluid. There can be numerous stones of different sizes, varying from tiny sand-like particles to big golf-ball-like stones.

Medically, gallstones are categorized into two broad categories:

1. Cholesterol Stones

These are the most common type of gallstones, which tend to be yellow-green in color. They form due to excessive accumulation of cholesterol in the bile fluid.

2. Pigment Stones

Compared to other gallstones, these are smaller in size and dark brownish in color. These tend to form due to accumulation of excessive amounts of bilirubin in the bile.

Gallstones tend to remain silent for a long time, but the problems occur when they start blocking bile ducts, giving rise to inflammation and pain in the body.

 

Is It Possible to Just Extract Stones from the Gallbladder?

 

Among several questions, the frequently asked one is whether it's possible to extract gallstones from the gallbladder without removing the latter. But according to modern science, this is not the case. This is due to the following reasons:

1.     Gallbladder is Already Diseased: When a person suffers from gallstones, it means that his/her gallbladder is already diseased. Therefore, if we leave such a diseased organ in the body, new stones will be formed sooner or later.

2.     Extreme Risk of Complications: Removing stones by opening up the gallbladder, closing it back, and sewing it is extremely risky, as there might be a leakage of bile fluid inside the body, leading to infection.

3.     Living Without a Gallbladder is Possible: Remember that the production of bile happens in the liver and not the gallbladder. The gallbladder is merely a storage pouch. Thus, by gallbladder stone operation, bile produced by the liver is sent to the small intestines directly. Therefore, the digestion of food is not affected.

Due to the above-discussed reasons, a cholecystectomy, i.e., the removal of the whole gallbladder, is a much safer way to cure the patient.

 

Symptoms, Risk Factors, and Associated Diseases

 

Common symptoms you should watch out for:

People suffering from gallstones often don't know whether there's something wrong with them or not. The symptoms arise when the stones start blocking the ducts, causing what is known as gallbladder attacks. Such patients suffer from:

·       Severe pain in the right upper abdomen.

·       Experiencing pain flares after consumption of oily food.

·       Experiencing nausea along with stomach bloat.

·       Fever/chills (indicative of a severe infection).

·       Jaundice (yellow appearance of skin/eyes).

Risk Factors

There are some factors that make you prone to suffer from gallstones, including:

1.     Obesity or rapid loss of weight.

2.     Being overweight.

3.     Consuming a lot of fats and cholesterol in food.

4.     Having diabetes.

5.     Leading a sedentary lifestyle.

Furthermore, women are more likely to have gallstones compared to men, especially during pregnancy or increasing age.

 

Advanced Gallbladder Stone Operation at Genesis Hospital

 

The development of symptomatic gallstones can result in some serious conditions, such as gallbladder infections, acute inflammation, blockage of bile ducts, and even pancreatitis. To prevent such occurrences, timely diagnosis is required.

At Genesis Hospital, with the help of diagnostic procedures, such as high-resolution ultrasonography, blood tests, CT scans, and MRI scans, the number, location, and size of your stones can be easily determined.

Following diagnosis, a laparoscopic gallstone operation becomes the best choice. Unlike traditional open operations involving large incisions, the laparoscopic procedure involves only a few keyhole incisions as seen in the medical diagram below.

Advantages of our advanced procedure include the following:

·       Significantly fewer scars/incisions.

·       Less pain following the surgery.

·       Minimized risks of complications.

·       Faster recovery periods and hospital stay.

 

Recovery That Puts Patients First

 

The process of healing starts not as soon as you step out of the operation theater but continues at home and other places and requires special care. We aim to provide the most efficient recovery process to our patients by offering nursing services and expert advice.

As part of the post-operative gallbladder stone operation treatment procedure, we give our patients certain guidelines regarding the temporary elimination of oily or spicy foods from their daily meals. Following the treatment, in a short time span, patients are able to get back to their normal life.

Contact us immediately to find out about our treatment services for gallstones!