Frequently Asked Questions

Gallstones form in the gallbladder which is a small pear-sized pouch attached to the under-surface of the liver.  Its function is to store and concentrate bile to help digest fatty foods.  Stones can form for a number of reasons related to diet, genetics, age and hormones.  Many people have gallstones and have no symptoms whatsoever, wheras others may get severe pain from just one stone.   The pain is usually in the right upper part of the abdomen, under the rib cage and is often, but not always, associated with eating fatty foods.  It can be very severe indeed.  The best way to diagnose gallstones is with an abdominal ultrasound scan.  Specialist review by a consultant surgeon is needed to decide whether the gallstones are the likely cause of the pain, whether there might other factors, and what the best treatment course is.

If gallstones are deemed to be the cause of your pain, then your surgeon can decide with you how best to manage them.  A detailed medical history will be taken to decide whether surgical removal (cholecystectomy) is an option or not.  If it is, then this is the most effective treatment by far.  Cholecystectomy can almost always be carried out using keyhole surgery, and complications are rare but can be extremely serious.  The operation itself is usually straightforward, but sometimes difficulties can be encountered such as unusual anatomy, severe inflammation or unexpected findings involving the bile ducts, the liver or adjacent structures such as the duodenum or the colon.   Only specialist hepatobiliary (liver, gallbladder and bile duct) surgeons have the training and skills to manage all of these situations independently. Even highly experienced non-specialist general surgeons may need to call upon hepatobiliary specialist surgeons for advice, or even in rare circumstances abandon the operation completely and refer on to those specialists for a second attempt.   It is entirely appropriate to ask your surgeon about their training and experience in all potential aspects of gallbladder surgery including the most complex cases.

It is important to stress that complications are rare, but potentially serious.  This is not an exhaustive list, and you should discuss these with your surgeon.  There are many studies showing that more serious complications are less frequent if a specialist hepatobiliary surgeon performs the operation, compared to a general non-specialist surgeon.

1) Bleeding

2) Infection (of the wounds or a deeper infection)

3) Damage to the bile duct, bowel or blood vessels.  This is a potentially serious complication that may require more extensive open surgery to repair.

4) Bile leak

5) Retained stones