A Simple Explanation of Gallstones

Most of the 20 million Americans with gallstones never know they have them. Even if a doctor discovers the stones, if the stones don’t cause any pain no treatment is needed. Gallstone treatment usually results in the surgical removal of the stones. The body quickly adapts to the loss of the gallbladder and digestion occurs as usual.

Two main types of gallstones, cholesterol and pigmented, can be found in the body. People tend to have one or the other type of gallstone, they usually do not have both types present. Studies have shown that the country in which the patient resides can contribute to the type of gallstone in the body. People from the U.S., Australia, England, Germany, South Africa, and Sweden tend to develop cholesterol stones whereas people from less industrialized countries more often develop 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 other type of gallstone is pigment stones. These stones develop when the body sheds its old red blood cells either too frequently or too quickly. As a result, the body produces an excess amount of bilirubin, the primary cause of pigment stones. People with sicke-cell anemia or biliary tract infections tend to get pigment stones. Studies show that those with sicke-cell anemia tend to have pigment gallstone problems early in life.

Sometimes gallstones absorb so much calcium that they become calcified, or hardened. Calcified stones can sometimes been seen on a regular x-ray. Because calcified stones are so dense, they’re not good candidates for gallstone dissolving procedures. Instead, if these stones are causing pain or discomfort, gallbladder surgery is usually recommended.

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.

The treatment chosen to deal with gallstones varies from person to person. If the person has been diagnosed with gallstones but only occasionally exhibits symptoms a doctor may opt to treat the stones with medicine. If the patient experiences pain shortly after consuming food and the doctor determines that gallstones are the culprit, gallbladder surgery may be recommended. Gallbladder surgery has recently become one of the most prevalent surgical procedures in the United States. With the advances of medical science many gallbladders are removed laparoscopically, greatly reducing a patient’s hospital and recovery time. As such many patients are now able to resume their normal daily activities within a few days.