What are Gallbladder Stones?

The gallbladder is an organ shaped like a pear, located under the liver. This organ helps in digesting food by storing bile liquid and delivering it to the small intestine.

The gallbladder, connected to the liver and intestines through bile ducts, plays an important role in the human digestive system. The main function of the gallbladder is to store a fluid known as “bile,” which aids the digestion of food materials, especially fat. Bile passes from the gallbladder to the intestines during the digestive process.

Although an acute pain in the belly can indicate many different problems, the pain caused by gallstones has a nature of its own. The pain in the gallbladder can be of two broad types: acute or chronic.

This article attempts to demystify some misconceptions that most people have regarding gallbladder surgery. Though most people think that life after gallbladder removal must include a strict fat-free diet, the reality is that people should and must continue to consume fat in moderate amounts even after losing the gallbladder. Fat is generally processed by the bile, which is created in the liver, so after gallbladder removal patients can safely eat fat. However, what people have to understand is that after gallbladder removal, the body does not have any place to store the bile, so the diet has to be suitably adjusted keeping that anatomical deficiency in mind. After gallbladder-removal surgery, the patients still require cholesterol to produce the bile to aid digestion of fat.

The low-profile, pear-shaped organ performs a critical function in the human metabolic system it collects and stores bile to aid in the digestion of fatty foods. Interestingly, most people do not pay attention to or even realize they have gall bladder problems till the symptoms begin to surface. The gallstones, depending on their size and quantity, can make their presence felt through the common symptoms as stomach pain, feelings of nausea and bloating, or vomiting. When symptoms become that apparent, it is time to remove the gall bladder! However, if your gall bladder problems are less severe and hardly perceptible, watching your daily diet and body weight can immensely help in aggravating the problems.

Gallstones, which are solid particles growing in the gall bladder, can be of two types—stones formed from excessive cholesterol deposits in the bile, or pigment stones formed by too much bilirubin in the bile. Globally, gallbladder diseases are quite high! Moreover, a significant portion of this affected population happens to be the Native Americans or Mexican Americans. Gallstones vary in sizes, but they can seriously impair the metabolic system if not prevented at an early stage of development. Gallbladder stones are treated with the latest treatment procedures in facilities like Neoalta Clinic.

Gallbladder stones, which are solid deposits growing inside the gallbladder, can form either due to high amounts of cholesterol in the bile, or due to the presence of excess bilirubin in the bile, a condition also known as “jaundice.”

Sudden deafness or Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss or SSHL is unexplained rapid loss of hearing usually in one ear (but both the ears may be affected) over a period of few days. A patient suffering from SSHL should consult an ENT specialist as quickly as possible to diagnose and start the treatment.

Acute cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder (organ which digests fatty food we eat and also stores bile), mainly due to obstruction caused by gallbladder stones. When this takes place, over and over again with prolong episodes, it is known as chronic cholecystitis.

Why is there pain even after the gall bladder removal?

Mrs. Agrawal, a 56 years old lady visited Gastroenterology clinic with right side abdominal pain for 5 days. She has a history of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed 6 months back, the gastroenterologist is bit concerned now. Can she have a recurrence of gall stones? Is it possible after the removal of gall?