The gall bladder is a very small organ which is found next to your liver. The gall bladder' s role is to store bile, a substance used for digestion. The bile in mixture with other chemicals form gallstones. These gallstones are very dangerous because they can block the bile duct that allows bile to go from you gallbladder into the duodenum.
The best way to diagnose gall bladders problems is with the help of an ultrasound examination. Sound waves sent into your abdomen can give a clear picture of your gall bladder and thus show if you have any gallstones. X- rays or tomography scans are also used to diagnose gall bladder problems. If you are diagnosed with gallstones, a gall bladder problem, then surgery is the treatment. Even if there are other methods to treat a gall bladder problem, surgery is still the most used tehnique.
There are two surgery options for gall bladder problems:
- the standard gall bladder procedure, called cholecystectomy; this is a an open gall bladder surgery; the surgeon makes a 7 inch incision in your abdomen and pull out your gall bladder through it; most of the patients that use this type of gall bladder surgery must stay in the hospital almost a week after the procedure; the recovery is slow and quite difficult in this gall bladder removal case;
- the second option that you have when choosing to have your gall bladder removed is laparoscopic cholecystectomy; this is the most used procedure of the two; a few small incisions must be made in your abdomen; through those incisions, the surgeon then inserts tubes that have video cameras and the instruments needed to remove your gall bladder; then he/ she watches on the monitor and performs the operation; the gall bladder is carefully removed; this type of gall bladder removal surgery requires great surgical skills; in this gall bladder removal case, the recovery is quicker and painless; the patient can leave home a few hours after he/ she has had the gall bladder procedure;
Both of these gall bladder surgeries can have complications and side- effects. However, the side- effects are very mild and will actually pass in a couple of days. Damaging the bile duct or some of the organs that are near the gall bladder is a risk that you have to take when having gall bladder removal surgery. In spite of all the risks involved, more than ninety percent of all gall bladder surgeries are a success.
Gall Bladder And Stones
Among its factor risks we count: overweight, rapid weight loss, diabetes, treatment with birth control pills, females, age over 40, ethnicity, alchool consumption, heredity, high cholesterol and triglicerides, low calorie diets, immunosuppressive drugs, refined sugars and saturated fats, low diet in fibers, constipation, anemias, chrons disease. Other risks factors mentioned are: chronic heartburn, Atkins diet, use of antiacids.
Gall bladder problems and gallstones occur when sedentary life and an unhealthy diet of highly processed foods with fried foods, white flour, white sugar, hydrogenated mingle. The risk exists even if you eat or not fat foods because it may cause stasis and bile thickening. A study published in BMC Gastroenterology 2002 children are very sensible and the cases of gall bladder in children are rising.
Symptoms in gall bladder disease
Symptoms in gall bladder diseases are very much alike with symptoms in other diseases that's why several tests are needed to determine exact the disease. Gas, bloating, burping, belching, tenderness even discomfort under the rib cage on the right side. Those symptoms are the common ones and they prevent an attack of gall bladder. Constipation and weight gain are also symptoms of gall bladder disease. An indigestion may be caused by the lack of bile to act on the fat substance from the meal. A stone could be blocking the flow of bile and the gall bladder is distended then it becomes inflammed and its content gets infected. The gall bladder could be dyskinetic and the stasis of bile could be in the liver with the formation of sludges and calculi.
Gall bladder attack symptoms may occur any time at night or after a fatty meal, attacks last for 1-2 hours, may cause nausea and vomiting and severe pain in the back between the shoulders. After a true attack occurs, subsequent attacks are more frequent. Pains can appear in the upper abdomen or below the ribs on the right side they are rare, once in a while. It may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting and may spread in the right shoulder, the attack of pain can be severe and frequent and may have different durations from minutes to hours. Attacks are triggered by chocolate, cheese or pastry and other fatty foods.
Biliary dyskinesia meaning a disease of the gall bladder without the presence of gallstones, the gall bladder can't empty its whole content, is a frequently disease in obese people. The problem could be with the sphincter of Oddi, the gall bladder's muscles or a chronic inflammation. In this case the pain appears in the right upper quadrant. If you are suffering of biliary dyskinesia please answer briefly those questions: Do you follow a treatment for acidity? Do you take many anti-acids?
How often do you feel indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux in a week? Are you constipated most of the time? You may list any other symptom that you consider it affects your digestion.
