Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Gall Stones | St.Theresas Hospital

Gallstones form at the gallbladder which is shaped just like a balloon , with greenish or yellowish fluid inside, and lying below the liver. This greenish or yellowish fluid is bile made in your liver to help in digestion. Gall bladder contains stagnated bile or concentrated bile and this bile directly comes from the liver to the intestine through a small pipe, which is called a common bile duct. So this gallbladder has no function in our body except for concentration of the bile. So whenever we take food the gall bladder is going to contract, squeeze itself so that the concentrated bile will come and meet in the small intestine for digestion of the food, so actually there is no role but if the gallbladder doesn’t work / contract due to aging, or at times in pregnancy conditions due to certain unknown reasons, it will stagnate the bile and form stones.

Types of Gall Stones
Mainly there are two kinds of Gall stones- Cholesterol stones mostly yellow-green formed by cholesterol which is nothing but the fat kind of thing which is present in the bile, that may precipitate in the formation of stones. Or it may be black stones or Bilrubin formed by the rupture of the red blood cells. Or it may be mixed. In India, mixed stones are common. And it happens because the gallbladder is not working properly due to excess intake of junk foods, not taking water properly, not doing exercise, or not taking fiber etc. So, these are the major causes of the formation of stones at a younger age. So, gallstones may form in young people, middle aged people, or elderly people.

Symptoms of Gall Stones
If the stones are there, usually they are asymptomatic, they don’t lead to any symptoms except dyspepsia. There will be bloating of gas after taking food, they don’t give digestion signals to their mind. Some people also have pain at the right side of the abdomen which goes up to the shoulder. These conditions are very important because the stones get stuck in the gallbladder.

Complications with Gall Stones
Sometimes if the stones pass down, they lead to jaundice which is called obstructive jaundice. Some of the stones may obstruct and the gallbladder will enlarge with a big size balloon leading to rupture. And it may contain puss. So these are the complications that may happen and especially in North Indian patients. When the stones are there, there is a chance of cancer of the gallbladder.