DIAGNOSIS
The physician will conduct a physical examination that involves checking the eyes and skin for apparent change/s in color. Turning yellow may be a sign of jaundice, which is caused by excessive bilirubin in the body. The examination may include utilizing diagnostic tests that help observe the inside of the body, including:
This is a popular imaging method that produces images of the body’s inside, particularly the abdomen.
Specialized x-rays that allow the physician to see the inside of the patient’s body by taking pictures of the liver and abdominal region.
- Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)
Uses a magnetic field and rhythms of radio wave energy to generate pictures of the inside of the body, including the liver and gallbladder.
- Gallbladder Radionuclide Scan
It is an essential scan that takes about one hour to conduct, where a specialist administers a radioactive substance into the veins. The substance then transits through the blood to the liver and gallbladder. It can display evidence to point out infection or clogging of the bile ducts caused by the stones on a scan.
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
The doctor administers a tube called an endoscope through the mouth down to the small intestine. A dye is then infused to see the bile ducts on a camera in the endoscope.
Incorporates ultrasound and endoscopy to search for gallstones.
TREATMENT
Treatment is unnecessary if symptoms do not persist because some small gallstones can be eliminated from the body spontaneously. The majority of the gallstones have their gallbladders removed because it is still possible to digest food without it. Removal of the gallbladder can be done through two different procedures which are:
- Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
This is the most general surgery for gallstones where the doctor runs a narrow tube, known as a laparoscope, into the abdomen through a small fissure. The surgeon then takes out the gallbladder through another small incision.
The doctor creates larger cuts in the belly to take out the gallbladder.