
Gallbladder stones are a very common surgical condition especially in middle aged females who are overweight and consume a high fat and high cholesterol diet.
The gallbladder is a storage reservoir for bile produced by the liver. It is connected to the liver via the common bile duct which ultimately opens into the small intestine where the bile gets mixed with the food to aid digestion.
Gallbladder stones are often asymptomatic and incidentally detected at the time of ultrasound of the abdomen. The stones may small or large in size and can be single or multiple in number.
The stones formed in the gallbladder are often displaced by the flow of bile juice to and from the gallbladder. Small and multiple stones in the gallbladder may enter the common bile duct along with the bile flow and cause blockage. This can cause blockage of bile flow from the liver altogether giving rise to obstructive jaundice.
The treatment of this jaundice is via surgical intervention. Firstly , an ERCP procedure needs to be performed to remove the stones blocking the common bile duct and restore the flow of bile into the intestine. This is also combined with placement of a stent to prevent recurrent blockage in the near future. Once the jaundice has subsided, a surgical procedure for removal of gallbladder is performed. Finally , after a period of 4-6 weeks , the stent placed in the common bile duct is removed via endoscopy.