Gall Bladder is a pear-shaped accessory digestive organ tucked under the liver in the right upper abdomen. The function of the Gall Bladder is primarily storing the small amount of bile juice; when we eat fatty food the gall bladder squeezes this bile through the common bile duct into the intestine. When cholesterol or fat concentration increases in the bile juice, the juice precipitates as stone in the Gall Bladder. It can occur in all age groups and in both sexes, though more commonly in females.

Sings & Symptoms

Common symptoms of Gall Bladder stone disease or cholelithiasis are:

• Gaseous distension or bloating
• Flatulent dyspepsia
• Acute upper abdominal pain along with vomiting and fever. This occurs when a gall stone gets impacted at the neck of the gall bladder
• Jaundice occurs when a gall stone drops down from the gall bladder into the common bile duct resulting in obstruction to the flow of bile and hence causing jaundice.
• Pancreatitis occurs when the slipped gall stone in the common bile duct irritates the duct of the pancreas gland leading to inflammation of the gland. This is an emergency situation and patient requires admission into the intensive care unit most times.

Diagnosis

• Complete Blood Count
• Liver Function Test
• Blood Sugar
• Urine - Routine & Microscopy
• Lipid profile
• Ultrasound Whole Abdomen

Treatment

Gall bladder stone treatment
Most surgeons agree that stone removal techniques have an unacceptably high recurrence rate with non-operative measures. Cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice for gall bladder stones.

Cholecystectomy may be done by open surgery or laparoscopic surgery. The gold standard treatment is ‘Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy’ under general anaesthesia. It is a safe procedure that involves 4 small holes only. It can also be done as a Single incision Laparoscopic surgery