This test involves placing an ultrasound probe over the upper abdomen that will transmit and receive reflected ultrasound waves, from, which images of the abdominal organs will be created. It may also show other signs for gallstones that have turned complicated. The most common and accurate way to diagnose gallstones is through an abdominal ultrasound which will show the stones in the gall bladder. Some blood destruction disorders, such as sickle cell anaemia and leukemia may lead to an increased risk of developing gallstones.A high-cholesterol, high-fat or low-fibre diet.Gallstones are formed in the gall bladder or bile duct when bile in there hardens. This unfortunately may not have obvious symptoms till late stages.
Obstruction of liver duct – larger stones may impinge upon the liver duct causing obstruction and give rise to yellowing of eyes and skin (jaundice) and tea coloured urine.Inflammation of pancreas (pancreatitis) – due to obstruction of the pancreas duct as the ‘dropped stone’ passes down the liver duct causing severe upper abdominal pain.Liver duct stone – due to ‘dropping’ of gallstones from the gall bladder into the liver duct (bile duct) causing yellowing of eyes and skin (jaundice), tea coloured urine and pain in the upper abdomen.Acute cholecystitis – acute inflammation of the gall bladder, presenting with a more severe continuous pain in the upper middle & right abdomen which may be accompanied by fever.Fatty food dyspepsia – feeling of indigestion, belching, bloating, flatulence, ‘acidity’, especially after eating oily foods.Biliary colics – moderate to severe, colicky pain in upper middle & right abdomen, which may go to back or shoulder tip.The type of symptoms depend on the complications that occur from the gallstones. Among those with symptoms, some are recurrent and chronic, while others are acute and severe. When the gallstones enlarge, they tend to dislodge from the gall bladder wall and may then cause symptoms. When gallstones are initially formed, they are often adherent to the gall bladder wall and are usually asymptomatic and do not pose a health risk. If the gall bladder does not empty completely or frequently enough, bile may become very concentrated, leading to gallstone formation. Super-saturation. If the bile in the gall bladder gets too concentrated, the constituents will crystalise and gradually enlarge to form gallstones.Gallstones may develop due to the following causes: Very often there can be multiple of them of different sizes.
They can range in size from as small as a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. Gallstones are hardened deposits of bile that can form in the gall bladder. The confusion arises because the nerve supply to the stomach and the gall bladder share the same origin in the vagus nerve.
Many of them may have been given a trial of medication for gastritis with no improvement and may have even subjected themselves to endoscopic examination which did not reveal any significant gastric problem.Ī substantial number of them were actually suffering from gallstone disease! In clinical practice, very often we find people with symptoms which have been mistaken for ‘gastric’ pain – often a sensation of pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen either around the midline or to the right. Dr Stephen Chang, general surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Hospital specialising in liver, pancreas, gall bladder and bile duct surgery, explains gallstone disease and its treatment options.