Gallbladder stones, to operate or not to operate? For young patients with small stones and no symptoms, surgery can be suspended, pay attention to diet and follow up regularly. When is the appropriate time for surgery? It is generally recommended to operate when there is no pain, and for acute attacks, it is more appropriate to operate 1-2 months after the inflammation is controlled, because at that time the gallbladder is not inflamed and edematous, and the operation is simple, with quick recovery and few complications. If conservative treatment is not effective, emergency surgery is required, but the risk is much greater. Minimally invasive, or open? I would just like to say that one is a delicate operation under a high-definition magnified view many times, and the other is a deep small incision to pull out by hand. There is no doubt that laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been the international gold standard for decades. Of course, those who have difficulty operating laparoscopically still need open surgery as a supplement, and the incision must not be small at that time. Trust the doctor, not the lady in the next village. How is cholecystectomy done? Can it be opened cleanly with minimal invasion? Look at the pictures together. Just to clarify, the process of gallbladder removal is exactly the same for minimally invasive and open surgery. The difference is that minimally invasive has a small puncture opening in the abdominal wall, and we will remove the gallbladder in a retrieval bag. Sometimes, because of too many stones that are too large, or because of gallbladder edema, we will cut up the specimen for easy removal, but the gallbladder is removed to make sure it is intact, not piece by piece, and there is no residue. Can I have my gallbladder preserved? How is a biliary lithotomy done? Imaging tests such as ultrasound or MRI clearly identify single or few stones, and intraoperative choledochoscopy or cholecystoscopy must clearly identify the absence of residual stones or sediment; otherwise, stone recurrence is the biggest pain after biliary preservation.