Gallstones Health Video

Gallstones are solid deposits of cholesterol or calcium salts that form in your gallbladder or nearby bile ducts. Complications from gallstones can be serious, and even fatal, if left untreated. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of gallstones in this video.

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Contact a doctor for abdomen pain in the right side
Contact a doctor for jaundice-like symptoms
Contact a doctor for surgical removal options

About this Author

Dr. Susan McGladdery is a medical graduate from Oxford University in the UK and has a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University. She has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 1991 and a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care since 2006. She trained as a Family Physician in the UK in Oxford and then in London. In a medical career that spans over 20 years, she has worked as a doctor in 5 countries on 3 continents and cared for patients from a multitude of different nationalities and backgrounds. Dr. McGladdery joined FirstMed Centers in mid 2002 and became Regional Medical Director in 2003.

SUSAN MCGLADERRY, BM, BCH, MRCP: Hello. My name is Dr. Sue McGladerry. I'm the medical director from FirstMed Centers in Budapest, Hungary and I'd like to give you some information about gallstones. These are hard deposits that form inside the gallbladder. The size of the stones ranges from tiny-like grains of sand up to the size of a golf ball for an individual stone. The cause of these gallstones varies. Some stones form when there is too much cholesterol or bilirubin in the bile, also if there are not enough bile salts or if the gallbladder fails to empty properly. Gallstones are a very common health problem worldwide that is more common in women and people over the age of 40 years old. There are some additional risk factors including genetic factors, obesity, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, long-term intravenous nutrition, and even some operations for peptic ulcers. What are the symptoms of gallstones? Often, they have no symptoms and are in fact found as an incidental finding for example on ultrasounds. They are only causing symptoms in about 20% of people. They start to cause problems if a large stone blocks part of the bile duct or biliary system. In this case, it gives rise to biliary colic, a cramping pain felt in the middle to right upper part of the abdomen and sometimes associated with fever. Stones that don't pass can lead to gallbladder inflammation and also infection, a condition as an acute cholecystitis. There may also be jaundice that develops because of prolonged blockage. Gallstones can also cause pancreatitis. This is a very serious condition that requires hospitalization. How are gallstones diagnosed? There are many ways including an abdominal ultrasound or abdominal CT scan, and what about the options for treatment? Generally, surgery is used only for people who have symptoms and, as I've already mentioned, the majority of people with gallstones in fact don't have any symptoms from the stones. For those who have symptomatic stones, new minimally invasive surgical techniques such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy give very good results. It is fast recovery and daycare surgery is possible. What about medications? Bile salts taken by mouth may slowly dissolve some gallstones but this is a very slow process taking up to two years. What's the outlook for people who have gallstones? In many people, they don't cause symptoms and in those that do have symptoms, surgery gives excellent results. When should you call your doctor if you are concerned about gallstones? If you have pain in the right upper part of the abdomen or if you have jaundice or colicky symptoms that would fit with gallstones, get in touch with your doctor.