Gallstone extraction to help you live a normal life

Gallbladder stones are a common and frequent disease, mostly occurring in adults and more in women than men. It is highly prevalent in the southwest and northwest of China and is related to dietary habits. Huang Gang, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China The etiology of gallbladder stones is complex. Factors that affect the alteration of bile composition ratio and cause bile stasis can lead to stone formation. Irregular diet, skipping breakfast, women, obesity, high fat diet, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, liver cirrhosis, gastrectomy and ileal disease are all causes of stone formation. The treatment of gallbladder stones currently adopts minimally invasive surgery, according to the function of the gallbladder, choose “biliary stone extraction” or “gallbladder removal”. Our hospital is one of the earliest hospitals in China to carry out “gallbladder stone retrieval” and has accumulated rich experience. A large number of patients from inside and outside the province come to our hospital for treatment. A functioning gallbladder should be preserved in order to maintain the normal functioning of the body. We will select some typical cases one after another to introduce to you. Xie Mouyan, female, 27 years old, from Hunan. She was admitted to the hospital with “recurrent right upper abdominal pain and discomfort for more than 2 months”. The patient began to experience pain and discomfort in the right upper abdomen after meals 2 months ago, and went to the emergency room of a local hospital where ultrasound examination revealed multiple gallbladder stones. After eating greasy food 1 week ago, he developed pain in the right upper abdomen with intermittent distension and pain, without fever and scleral yellowing. Physical examination: body temperature, pulse, respiration and blood pressure were normal. Specialized examination: no yellowing of the skin and sclera. Ultrasound showed: 1) fatty liver; 2) multiple gallbladder stones and cholecystitis; 3) normal gallbladder systolic and diastolic function. After evaluation, it was decided to perform “laparoscopic cholecystectomy and lithotripsy (commonly known as biliary stone extraction)”.    On September 15, 2014, “laparoscopic cholecystectomy and lithotripsy” was performed under general anesthesia. Intraoperatively, the liver was normal. The gallbladder was about 8*3*3cm in size, no obvious edema, multiple stones were visible, spherical, smooth surface, yellow, 7mm-10.1mm in diameter, 11 in total, and the inner wall of the gallbladder was slightly red. Through three small holes of 5 mm in size opened in the abdominal wall, 11 round, columnar stones were successfully removed through small incisions in the gallbladder wall with a small laparoscope and small choledochoscope, and cleaned up the sediment-like stones and sutured the gallbladder incision, which was inspected for intact sutures and no bile leakage. The items were counted in pairs, and the operation was concluded with the closure of the abdominal wall incision. The operation went smoothly with no intraoperative bleeding. The patient returned to the ward safely after surgery.    The patient was successfully discharged 3 days after the operation Postoperative follow-up was uncomfortable and life was as before the operation.