|  | Conditions Treatments | Medical Conditions

MTBE & Gallstones

MTBE, or methyl tert-butyl ether, has solvent properties that enable it to dissolve gallstones. The New York Times Health Guide refers to this type of treatment as contact dissolution therapy.

  1. Description

    • Hopkins Technology describes MTBE as a solution commonly used to dissolve substances in laboratory work. The chemical strongly resembles an anesthetic called diethyl ether in composition. According to the New York Times Health Guide, this form of ether retains its liquid state when introduced into the body.

    Function

    • To dissolve gallstones with MTBE, doctors must catheterize the gallbladder and then flush a small amount of the chemical through the organ. Hopkins Technology states that while the procedure may take up to three days to completely destroy the gallstones, the stones can begin to dissolve within a matter of hours.

    Considerations

    • Doctors consider MTBE an experimental treatment, and some questions about side effects and gallstone recurrence remain unanswered. Hopkins Technology reports that one such side effect, nausea, can occur if some of the MTBE leaks into the intestine, and the New York Times Health Guide reports that severe pain can also result from the procedure.

Medical Conditions - Related Articles