Many people with gallstones do not have any symptoms. These are often found during a routine x-ray, abdominal surgery, or other medical procedure.
However, if a large stone blocks a tube or duct that drains the gallbladder, you may have a cramping pain in the middle to right upper abdomen. This is known as biliary colic. The pain goes away if the stone passes into the first part of the small intestine.
Symptoms that may occur include:
Pain in the right upper or middle upper abdomen for at least 30 minutes. The pain may be constant or cramping. It can feel sharp or dull.
Fever.
Yellowing of skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice).
Other symptoms may include:
Clay-colored stools
Nausea and vomiting
Treatment
SURGERY
Most of the time, surgery is not needed unless symptoms begin. However, people planning weight loss surgery may need to have gallstones removed before undergoing the procedure. In general, people who have symptoms will need surgery right away or soon after the stone is found.
A technique called laparoscopic cholecystectomy is most commonly used. This procedure uses small surgical incisions, which allow for a faster recovery. A patient can often go home from the hospital within 1 day of surgery.
In the past, open cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) was most often done. However, this technique is less common now.
ERCP and a procedure called a sphincterotomy may be done to find or treat gallstones in the common bile duct.
MEDICINES
Medicines may be given in pill form to dissolve cholesterol gallstones. However, these drugs may take 2 years or longer to work, and the stones may return after treatment ends.
Rarely, chemicals are passed into the gallbladder through a catheter. The chemical rapidly dissolves cholesterol stones. This treatment is hard to perform, so it is not done very often. The chemicals used can be toxic, and the gallstones may return.
LITHOTRIPSY
Shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) of the gallbladder has also been used for people who cannot have surgery. This treatment is not used as often as it once was because gallstones often come back.
Tests used to detect gallstones or gallbladder inflammation include:
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