Guide To Diagnosing, Treating, And Preventing Gallstones

Blood Tests

The most common blood test performed to check for a gallbladder problem, including gallstones, is called a complete blood count. A complete blood count tells a doctor if the patient has high levels of white blood cells that would indicate an infection in the body. Blood testing on a patient's liver function can help determine if the bile ducts are being obstructed by gallstones, which can stop the enzymes from reaching the digestive tract.

Liver enzymes, like amylase and lipase, may become elevated if the liver becomes injured from the inflammatory process that takes place in some patients with gallstones. When the levels of bilirubin in the blood are greater than three milligrams per deciliter, there is a sixty percent chance the individual has a common bile duct stone that is causing an obstruction.

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Gallbladder Removal Surgery

An individual with gallstones causing certain symptoms may need to have gallbladder removal surgery. When the gallbladder has become swollen and inflamed, bile ducts have been blocked, or gallstones migrate from the bile ducts into the patient's intestines, surgical removal of the gallbladder is considered. The medical term used to describe gallbladder removal surgery is cholecystectomy. This can be performed with a minimally invasive procedure. During a minimally invasive cholecystectomy, one or more small incisions are made in the abdomen. A specialized scope and surgical instruments are used to access and remove the gallbladder.

Some individuals are not eligible to undergo this minimally invasive procedure because of how the stones are positioned in their abdomen. These individuals require traditional open surgery to remove their gallbladder and treat their gallstones. The main reason behind removing the entire gallbladder instead of just the stones is that the stones are very likely to reoccur in patients treated with this method.

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