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Is There Any Other Option Other Than Surgery For Cholelithesis?

Hi dr. I just completed my sonography' and the dr told me I am suffering from cholelithesis, I am confuzion what should I do' dr have advised me for surgery removing gall blader, is there any option' I don't want surgery, is there is med. Course' home remedies, plz help me

Mon, 25 Aug 2014
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Gastroenterologist, Surgical 's  Response
Hi,
How are you? My name is Dr Suresh Raghavaiah. I am a surgical gastroenterologist and I will attempt to answer your question.
Cholelithiasis or gall bladder stones is a very common finding in scans of the abdomen. 10% to 20% of population will develop stones at some time in their lifetime. Up to 80% of these patients will never experience biliary pain or complications such as acute cholecystitis, cholangitis, or pancreatitis. Hence, most gallstones are clinically "silent," and is an incidental finding often uncovered during abdominal ultrasound being performed for another reason. People with such asymptomatic cholelithiasis, however, eventually may develop symptoms (biliary pain) that require treatment, but this risk is quite low. An even lower proportion (1-2%) may develop major gallstone complications. Therefore, expectant management is an appropriate choice for silent gallstones in the general population. The exception is patients at high risk for experiencing biliary complications - Large gallstones (>3 cm) or gallbladders crammed with stones that carry a higher risk of developing gallbladder cancer.
So in your case if you are currently not suffering from any symptoms and all you have is a small stone in the GB, I would advice a "wait and watch" policy. If in future you do develop symptoms like pain, fever, vomitting, dyspepsia, etc then I would get operated on. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a fairly simple and routine surgery done in most surgical centers.
Unfortunately once the stones have been formed, there is no medications which will help in treating them.
Hope this helps and hope you start to feel better soon.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further clarifications.
Have a great day
Dr Suresh Raghavaiah
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Is There Any Other Option Other Than Surgery For Cholelithesis?

Hi, How are you? My name is Dr Suresh Raghavaiah. I am a surgical gastroenterologist and I will attempt to answer your question. Cholelithiasis or gall bladder stones is a very common finding in scans of the abdomen. 10% to 20% of population will develop stones at some time in their lifetime. Up to 80% of these patients will never experience biliary pain or complications such as acute cholecystitis, cholangitis, or pancreatitis. Hence, most gallstones are clinically silent, and is an incidental finding often uncovered during abdominal ultrasound being performed for another reason. People with such asymptomatic cholelithiasis, however, eventually may develop symptoms (biliary pain) that require treatment, but this risk is quite low. An even lower proportion (1-2%) may develop major gallstone complications. Therefore, expectant management is an appropriate choice for silent gallstones in the general population. The exception is patients at high risk for experiencing biliary complications - Large gallstones ( 3 cm) or gallbladders crammed with stones that carry a higher risk of developing gallbladder cancer. So in your case if you are currently not suffering from any symptoms and all you have is a small stone in the GB, I would advice a wait and watch policy. If in future you do develop symptoms like pain, fever, vomitting, dyspepsia, etc then I would get operated on. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a fairly simple and routine surgery done in most surgical centers. Unfortunately once the stones have been formed, there is no medications which will help in treating them. Hope this helps and hope you start to feel better soon. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further clarifications. Have a great day Dr Suresh Raghavaiah