Alternatives to Gallbladder Surgery

Gallbladder surgery or removal is the most common treatment for gallstones. Gallstones can exist in the gallbladder for years without causing any symptoms. Symptoms occur when the gallstones become lodged in the bile duct. There is a great deal of pain associated with a gallstone attack, and eventually the attacks become more frequent. Alternatives to surgery can remove the stones without removing the gallbladder.

Chemical Dissolution

• Oral dissolution therapy is used to dissolve the gallstones if they are made of cholesterol. The procedure is called oral bile litholysis. This treatment is successful with patients who have small gallstones. Some patients, however, see a return of the stones within a few years of treatment.
  This is an option for those who do not wish to have the gallbladder removed. The treatment could last for months or in some cases years before it dissolves the stones.
  Contact dissolution therapy involves injecting a solvent into the gallbladder to dissolve the stones within one to three days. Only one injection is necessary for contact dissolution therapy. A physician experienced with the procedure must perform this treatment.

Home Remedy Flushes

• A home remedy can help the gallstones pass through the body. The simple natural gallbladder flush consists of drinking one quarter of a cup of olive oil with one quarter of a cup of lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice. Before bed, drink the mixture four times every 15 minutes.
  In the morning, drink four cups of warm filtered water with the juice from half a lemon. Eat only broth and vegetables during the day.The gallstones should come out in the urine sometime during this phase of the gallbladder flush. Gallstones vary in color from black to dark green. Some gallstones are brown or whitish in color.

Diet

• After a gallbladder attack, it is possible to control the condition with diet. Fatty foods are triggers for an attack, and you should not eat deep-fried foods or high-fat dairy products such as ice cream. When there has been more than one gallbladder attack, certain foods might become evident as triggers. Eliminate these foods to avoid future attacks.
  Eventually, gallstones will have to be removed with one of the treatments. If the bile ducts are blocked with large calcified gallstones, surgery may be inevitable. The gallbladder is not a necessary organ and can be safely removed without consequences.