If you have gallstones, should you remove your gallbladder or preserve the gallbladder and remove the stones? Experts teach you how to choose

As part of the human digestive system, the gallbladder's main function is to store, concentrate and excrete bile, which promotes fat digestion. Gallstones refer to stones formed in the gallbladder or bile duct. The main symptoms are distension and pain in the upper abdomen or right upper abdomen, which is more obvious after a full meal. As a common biliary system disease, it has repeated symptoms, which makes many patients feel troubled.

In the process of treating gallstones, a common question is: Do I need to remove my gallbladder if I have gallstones? In fact, there is more than just cholecystectomy to treat gallstones. When surgery is needed but you don’t want to remove your gallbladder, gallbladder preservation and stone removal is another treatment option. In recent years, it has received more and more attention and application.

1. Under what circumstances can the gallbladder be preserved?

Laparoscopic gallbladder preservation surgery, which refers to the use of minimally invasive surgery to preserve the gallbladder while solving gallstones, is the most mature and common gallbladder preservation surgery currently. It is suitable for patients with gallstones in certain specific cases.

First, the patient's gallbladder function should be normal or near-normal, with mild or no symptoms, and no obvious signs of inflammation, atrophy, or cancer.

Secondly, the patient's gallstones should be small, relatively few in number, and located in the gallbladder without entering the bile duct system. Finally, the patient's physical condition should allow for gallbladder-preserving surgery without serious complications or contraindications.

2. How to protect the gallbladder?

As one of the most common surgical methods in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, the hepatobiliary surgery department of Pingjiang County First People's Hospital currently conducts standardized diagnosis and treatment for gallbladder preservation and stone removal surgery: after admission, the patient completes routine preoperative examinations and preparations, and can be arranged for surgical treatment after evaluation without abnormalities. The operation is performed under general anesthesia, and a routine laparoscopic operation is performed through a small incision in the abdominal wall. The patient's gallbladder fundus is cut open, and the stones in the gallbladder are removed using tools such as a choledochoscope and a stone removal basket. Then the gallbladder fundus is sutured to preserve the gallbladder.

The patient can be discharged from the hospital after about 3 days of observation after the operation, and the entire diagnosis and treatment process takes about one week.

3. How to treat it in the later stage?

Of course, treatment after gallbladder-preserving surgery is equally important, and its purpose is to prevent the recurrence of stones after surgery.

1. Dietary adjustments are needed

Maintain a light diet and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins and fiber, help improve cholesterol excretion and prevent the formation of gallstones. Avoid eating fatty meat, peppers, popsicles and other greasy, spicy, and irritating foods, as well as high-protein, high-fat, and high-calorie foods, which may increase the concentration of bile components and increase the burden on the gallbladder.

Control the total amount of fat consumed daily, especially animal fat. High-fat foods can promote the formation of cholesterol crystals, thereby increasing the risk of cholelithiasis.

2. Adjust your work and rest schedule and exercise appropriately

Get enough sleep, avoid staying up late and overwork, so as not to reduce the body's immunity and increase the probability of recurrence. Appropriate exercise can promote the body's metabolism, strengthen the body, and improve the body's immunity, thereby achieving the effect of preventing recurrence.

3. After surgery, you need to take bile flow improvers under the guidance of a doctor.

This type of drug can increase bile secretion, promote gallbladder emptying, and reduce the risk of stone formation. For example, anti-inflammatory and choleretic tablets, danning tablets, ursodeoxycholic acid tablets and other drugs can promote the discharge of bile and reduce the chance of bile stasis.

Choosing appropriate choleretic drugs and taking them on time according to the doctor's instructions can help improve bile fluidity and prevent the recurrence of gallstones. Regular checkups are also designed to monitor the body's recovery and possible complications so that they can be dealt with in a timely manner.

Kind reminder from hepatobiliary surgeons:

In short, if you have gallstones, you don't necessarily need to remove your gallbladder. If you meet the conditions, you can choose gallbladder-preserving surgery for treatment. Gallbladder-preserving surgery avoids some potential risks of gallbladder removal by preserving the tissue and function of the gallbladder. However, gallbladder-preserving treatment is not suitable in all cases.

In some cases, such as when gallstones have caused severe damage to the gallbladder or the patient is in poor physical condition, gallbladder preservation surgery may not be suitable. In this case, gallbladder removal can avoid complications. In addition, gallbladder preservation treatment also has certain risks and complications, such as residual stones and stone recurrence, so careful consideration is also required when choosing a treatment method.

In general, it is recommended that patients make a choice under the guidance of a doctor regarding whether or not to have their gallbladder removed. For patients who want to preserve their gallbladder, they should choose a regular medical institution and use safe and effective treatment methods such as micro-innovation technology. At the same time, patients also need to understand the risks and complications of surgery, as well as postoperative precautions, to promote physical recovery.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Yin Yuqiang, Pingjiang County First People's Hospital

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(Edited by YH)