Gallstones Treatment Options

As the name goes, gallstones are hard, stone-like aggregates deposited in the gallbladder. The size of a gallstone may be as small as a grain, or it may resemble a golf ball. Likewise, gallstones remain asymptomatic in many people, while they may cause medical emergency complications in some instances. Gallstones treatment options are decided based on the severity of the symptoms, general health of the patient and future complications (if any).

Gallstone Treatment: Explained

In medical terms, presence of stones in the gallbladder is referred to as cholelithiasis. The commonly manifested gallstones signs and symptoms are upper right abdomen pain, a feeling of fullness, fever, nausea, vomiting and change in stool color. Therapeutic intervention for gallstones is considered, only when there are notable indications. The alternatives for gallstones treatment are many, of which surgery is the best option. However, there are also non-surgical techniques for patients who are not in a condition to undergo surgery. Some of the gallstones treatment options are:

Surgery
Surgery is the most reliable treatment option for gallstones. Known as cholecystectomy, it can be performed by traditional open surgery or non-invasive laparoscopic procedure. The latter is a better option, as it requires no hospital stay and recovery period is shorter than the open surgery. In a laparoscopic gallstone surgery, small incisions are made in the upper abdomen for removal of gallbladder. If everything goes well, the patient is discharged on the same day itself.

Treat with Medications
With this gallstones treatment option, patients are given either ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) or chenodeoxycholic acids (CDCA) in the form of oral pills. Both these medications are useful for dissolving stones. But, the concerning issue for gallstone treatment with medicine is the time required for complete gallstones removal, which may take up to 2 years. Also, there is a high chance of gallstone reformation in future.

Lithotripsy Method
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), or simply lithotripsy is no longer a popular option for gallstones treatment. The reason being increased risk for post treatment complications, like pain in abdomen and pancreas inflammation. In this form of gallstones treatment, high-energy, ultrasound waves are given in the upper right abdomen, where the stones are present. These shock waves split up the stones into smaller fragments, which are then excreted from the body.

Dissolution Treatment
The dissolution therapy for gallstones is focused on dissolving gallstones with certain chemical agents. Under this, there are again two gallstones treatment options, oral method and contact method. The former refers to ingestion of oral pills formulated with bile acids, whereas contact dissolution is performed by injecting methyl tert-butyl ether (abbreviated as MTBE). Dissolution therapy is usually performed with lithotripsy for best results. But, complications still exist, and cost of treatment is very high.

Natural Gallstone Treatment
In natural treatment for gallstones, curative herbs that promote secretion of bile juice are taken in specific amounts. Some examples of medicinal herbs are milk thistle, turmeric and artichoke. Another option for gallstones treatment at home is gallstone flush. It is claimed that having a fluid diet and consuming olive oil in large amounts are effective to get rid of gallstones. But, it may take a long time to flush off stones and also, its effectiveness is unpredictable.

For people who experience suspected gallstone symptoms, prompt diagnosis is a necessity. This is because, presence of stones in the gallbladder indicates gallbladder cancer in some patients. So, it is best to rule out serious medical problems at the earliest. The doctor will analyze gallstones treatment options, and suggest an appropriate alternative for the patient. In a nutshell, gallstones treatment without surgery is performed for selective patients, who cannot undergo surgery due to some underlying health problems.