How to Compare Gallstone Treatment Options

If you have gallstones but aren't having any problems, your doctor probably won't treat them, and you may wonder why you should worry about them at all. Be assured, however, that when an attack comes, you will find yourself at your doctor's office begging for treatment--quick. It's a good idea to learn more about your treatment options before the attacks begin. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

• 1

  Consider surgery. A cholecystectomy is one of the most common surgeries, and is usually done laparoscopically, in which the surgeon makes small incisions that don't cut abdominal muscles and uses instruments to remove the gallbladder. You will probably return home the same day and spend a few days taking things easy. However, in about 5 percent of cases, the surgery must be "open," which means making a large incision that will require a hospital stay and several weeks of recovery. Sometimes a surgeon may begin a laparoscopic surgery and have to switch midway through the procedure.

• 2

  Ask about drug treatment. Drugs that dissolve gallstones take months or years, and they cause side effects such as diarrhea. If you have a medical condition that makes surgery dangerous, your doctor will recommend drug treatment. However, you could form more gallstones later.

• 3

  Try contact dissolution, which involves injecting a drug directly into your gallbladder. This gets rid of gallstones in a few days. The side effects of this treatment are still being studied.

• 4

  Have gallstones that are lodged in the bile ducts removed or broken up. An endoscope can be used to find the gallstone and remove it from the duct or sound waves can be focused on the stone, breaking into smaller pieces that can be passed through the duct. However, neither of these treatments will remove gallstones from the gallbladder itself; more gallstones can become lodged in a bile duct later.

• 5

  Forget about herbal treatments. There is no evidence that they work, and they may cause other problems.