How do you cure a gullbladder infection?

Answer 1

What can be done at home?

Recurrent painful attacks, if mild, can be treated with over-the-counter painkillers. Placing something warm on your stomach may be helpful, taking care not to scald the skin. The frequency of attacks may be reduced by a low-fat diet.

How are gallstones diagnosed?

Blood samples are often taken to test if the liver is working normally. The most accurate method of detecting stones is by using an ultrasound scanner. This technique is quick and painless.

If the result of ultrasound scanning is inconclusive, other possible tests include a CT-scan and an MRI scan.

CT stands for computerised tomography and is a method of taking X-ray 'slices' of the body.

MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging and pictures of the internal organs can be obtained without X-rays. MRI is very useful for looking at the bile ducts.

An oral cholecystogram. This is an X-ray examination with films taken over two days which will show if the gall bladder is still capable of contraction. This gives a good indication of the function of the gall bladder. If a gall bladder is diseased it may not function or contract properly and this will be seen using the oral cholecystogram.

ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography) - this is used if it is suspected that the patient has gallstones in the bile ducts.

A small tube or endoscope is introduced down the gullet and into the duodenum under sedation. The bile duct is identified where it enters the duodenum and a very thin tube is placed into the duct. A dye is then injected into the duct and an X-ray taken to look for gallstones. Any gallstones detected may be removed at the same time which means that an operation may not always be necessary.

How are gallstones treated?

Gallstones which do not cause symptoms do not need any treatment. If a low-fat diet is not successful in controlling the symptoms some other form of treatment is required - this usually, but not always, means surgery.

Some people are able to manage mild symptoms with a combination of a low-fat diet and painkillers to control their abdominal discomfort.

Alternatives to surgery

Dissolution therapy - sometimes a specific type of gallstone can be dissolved using medicines. If the patient is unfit or unwilling to have an operation, dissolution therapy with ursodeoxycholic acid (Urdox tablets) is occasionally possible although it takes a long time to dissolve a gallstone and it often comes back after the treatment is stopped.

To be suitable for dissolution therapy the gallstones have to be small to medium in size and 'radiolucent', ie they do not show up on plain X-rays. Gallstones that do show up on plain X-rays do not dissolve. The gall bladder also needs to still show the ability to contract.

Lithotripsy - single gallstones in the gall bladder or bile ducts can sometimes be 'shattered' by a technique called lithotripsy, which uses a 'beam' of sound energy. This method is commonly used for treating kidney stones but is only rarely useful for gallstones. The fragments of shattered stone will still need to be removed by ERCP or dissolution therapy.

Surgery for gallstones

When an operation is required for gallstones in the gall bladder it is usual to remove the gall bladder and gallstones together - this is called cholecystectomy.

If the gall bladder is left behind it is quite likely that further gall stones will form in it. There are two ways of removing the gall bladder and nowadays more than 90 per cent are removed by laparoscopic or keyhole surgery.

This involves making four small cuts less than 1cm long in the abdomen and the use of a tiny camera inserted though one of these cuts to see the gall bladder.

Other instruments are placed in the abdomen through the other cuts. If the operation is successful most patients are able to go home the day after surgery and return to normal everyday activities within two weeks.

In some cases laparoscopic surgery is considered too dangerous or too difficult and it is then necessary to do a traditional or 'open' cholecystectomy. This involves making a cut in the abdomen between 9 and 18cm long. The patient will usually need to stay in hospital for at least five days and will not be able to return to work for six to eight weeks.

Will the patient notice any difference after surgery?

After the gall bladder has been removed most people will be aware that their pain has completely disappeared and they no longer need to avoid fatty food.

Complications following gallbladder surgery are very rare and there are usually no long-term effects from having a gall bladder removed http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/gallbladderdisease.htm What can be done at home?

Recurrent painful attacks, if mild, can be treated with over-the-counter painkillers. Placing something warm on your stomach may be helpful, taking care not to scald the skin. The frequency of attacks may be reduced by a low-fat diet.

How are gallstones diagnosed?

Blood samples are often taken to test if the liver is working normally. The most accurate method of detecting stones is by using an ultrasound scanner. This technique is quick and painless.

If the result of ultrasound scanning is inconclusive, other possible tests include a CT-scan and an MRI scan.

CT stands for computerised tomography and is a method of taking X-ray 'slices' of the body.

MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging and pictures of the internal organs can be obtained without X-rays. MRI is very useful for looking at the bile ducts.

An oral cholecystogram. This is an X-ray examination with films taken over two days which will show if the gall bladder is still capable of contraction. This gives a good indication of the function of the gall bladder. If a gall bladder is diseased it may not function or contract properly and this will be seen using the oral cholecystogram.

ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography) - this is used if it is suspected that the patient has gallstones in the bile ducts.

A small tube or endoscope is introduced down the gullet and into the duodenum under sedation. The bile duct is identified where it enters the duodenum and a very thin tube is placed into the duct. A dye is then injected into the duct and an X-ray taken to look for gallstones. Any gallstones detected may be removed at the same time which means that an operation may not always be necessary.

How are gallstones treated?

Gallstones which do not cause symptoms do not need any treatment. If a low-fat diet is not successful in controlling the symptoms some other form of treatment is required - this usually, but not always, means surgery.

Some people are able to manage mild symptoms with a combination of a low-fat diet and painkillers to control their abdominal discomfort.

Alternatives to surgery

Dissolution therapy - sometimes a specific type of gallstone can be dissolved using medicines. If the patient is unfit or unwilling to have an operation, dissolution therapy with ursodeoxycholic acid (Urdox tablets) is occasionally possible although it takes a long time to dissolve a gallstone and it often comes back after the treatment is stopped.

To be suitable for dissolution therapy the gallstones have to be small to medium in size and 'radiolucent', ie they do not show up on plain X-rays. Gallstones that do show up on plain X-rays do not dissolve. The gall bladder also needs to still show the ability to contract.

Lithotripsy - single gallstones in the gall bladder or bile ducts can sometimes be 'shattered' by a technique called lithotripsy, which uses a 'beam' of sound energy. This method is commonly used for treating kidney stones but is only rarely useful for gallstones. The fragments of shattered stone will still need to be removed by ERCP or dissolution therapy.

Surgery for gallstones

When an operation is required for gallstones in the gall bladder it is usual to remove the gall bladder and gallstones together - this is called cholecystectomy.

If the gall bladder is left behind it is quite likely that further gall stones will form in it. There are two ways of removing the gall bladder and nowadays more than 90 per cent are removed by laparoscopic or keyhole surgery.

This involves making four small cuts less than 1cm long in the abdomen and the use of a tiny camera inserted though one of these cuts to see the gall bladder.

Other instruments are placed in the abdomen through the other cuts. If the operation is successful most patients are able to go home the day after surgery and return to normal everyday activities within two weeks.

In some cases laparoscopic surgery is considered too dangerous or too difficult and it is then necessary to do a traditional or 'open' cholecystectomy. This involves making a cut in the abdomen between 9 and 18cm long. The patient will usually need to stay in hospital for at least five days and will not be able to return to work for six to eight weeks.

Will the patient notice any difference after surgery?

After the gall bladder has been removed most people will be aware that their pain has completely disappeared and they no longer need to avoid fatty food.

Complications following gallbladder surgery are very rare and there are usually no long-term effects from having a gall bladder removed http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/gallbladderdisease.htm