▲Ultrasonography shows gallstones (arrows). (Photo provided by Lin Zhilang)
Text / Lin Zhilang
Mr. Chen is a successful company executive. At the age of 50, he often needs to socialize because of his work, but recently he began to feel that his upper abdomen often feels bloated after socializing or eating greasy food. I felt a little pain, and sometimes even broke into a cold sweat. I was worried, so I arranged for a health check. Through an abdominal ultrasound examination, it was found that there were many gallstones in the gallbladder, and the cause was finally found.
Fear of cholecystitis, cholangitis, pancreatitis, etc.
70-80% of gallbladder stones have no symptoms. If there is inflammation of the gallbladder, severe right upper quadrant cramps may occur, usually within 3-4 hours after meals; Hospitalized for related complications, such as gallbladder inflammation, bile duct stones combined with cholangitis, and pancreas inflammation.
Please read on…
The formation of gallstones is often related to dietary habits, such as a high-fat diet, in addition, lack of physical activity or low daily activities, irregular meals, pregnancy or use of contraceptives or hormonal supplements, rapid weight loss, obesity, diabetes, and others. Insulin resistance (pre-diabetes), dyslipidemia, cirrhosis, hemolytic anemia, thalassemia, biliary tract inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease, spinal cord injury, fatty liver, use of specific drugs (eg, lipid-lowering drugs, antibiotics, total parenteral nutrition) , family history of gallstones, etc., all increase the risk of gallstone formation and need special care.
In general, asymptomatic patients are usually followed up regularly, unless abdominal ultrasonography diagnoses a porcelain gallbladder, or patients with recurrent gallstones with associated complications are advised to undergo cholecystectomy.
There are two types of surgery: traditional cholecystectomy or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The appropriate surgical method must be selected according to the patient’s clinical condition and medical environment.
If you have the above symptoms, it is recommended to seek medical evaluation from a professional physician, and fully discuss the treatment plan, learn about the benefits of each treatment and the possible sequelae and risks, and then find the most suitable treatment for you.
(The author is a physician from the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatobiliary, Keelung Chang Gung Hospital)
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