When Do You Need Surgery For Gallstones?

About 25 million Americans have gallstones, hardened deposits of digestive fluids that form in your gallbladder, which is a small organ located under your liver. Most people with gallstones don’t have symptoms, but they can be a significant source of pain, and they cause complications for around 20% of people.

If you’re dealing with abdominal pain, nausea, or other symptoms of gallstones, treatment is essential, and our team is here to help. 

Elvira Klause, MD, FACS, specializes in laparoscopic abdominal surgery, and we offer comprehensive consultations to evaluate your gallbladder symptoms and recommend treatment.

Here’s what you need to know about treatment options for gallstones and when it might be time to consider gallbladder surgery.

The basics of gallstones

As we mentioned earlier, gallstones are hard deposits made of substances like cholesterol, bile salts, and bilirubin. These stones can range in size from tiny grains to larger, more solid formations, and they develop due to an imbalance in your digestive fluids, leading to crystallization.

Most people with gallstones don’t experience symptoms, and it’s possible to have gallstones in your gallbladder without ever knowing it. But when gallstones start to move, they can get stuck and cause a blockage that triggers noticeable symptoms.

Symptomatic gallstones can cause sudden, intense abdominal pain, nausea, sweating, fever, or fast heart rate. And if you notice new or worsening abdominal pain, it’s a good idea to seek medical intervention.

Nonsurgical treatment for gallstones

Not all gallstones require surgery. For example, small, symptom-free stones discovered incidentally during imaging tests for other conditions may never cause a problem and may not necessitate treatment.

When gallstones become symptomatic, treatment is necessary to prevent more serious complications. Nonsurgical treatment options for gallstones include medication to help dissolve gallstones over time and lifestyle changes to lower your risk of new stones forming.

But medication takes time to work, and it’s rarely effective for large stones. And while lifestyle changes can sometimes help prevent new gallstones from forming, they won’t eliminate existing ones. 

Unfortunately, once gallstones become symptomatic, they tend to return. In these cases, surgery is often the most effective long-term solution.

When to consider surgery for gallstones

Gallbladder surgery, or cholecystectomy, is often the best treatment for symptomatic gallstones. Dr. Klause may recommend surgery if you have:

• Large gallstones, which are more likely to cause complications
• Frequent or severe gallbladder attacks
• Cholecystitis, which happens when gallstones block bile flow and cause inflammation and/or infection
• Bile duct blockage, which can lead to jaundice or pancreatitis

During cholecystectomy, Dr. Klause removes your gallbladder, effectively eliminating your risk of developing more gallstones in the future. She offers minimally invasive laparoscopic gallbladder surgery, during which she makes small incisions in your abdomen and inserts a tiny camera and specialized instruments to remove your gallbladder.

This technique provides minimal trauma to surrounding tissues, and it offers a few significant benefits compared with traditional open surgery. Most patients can return to their normal activities within a week or two, and they often enjoy less pain after surgery and a faster recovery.

If you’re experiencing recurring gallbladder pain, don’t let fear of surgery keep you from getting the care you need. We can evaluate your condition and determine whether surgery is the best option for you. 

Contact us online or call us at 949-245-6910 to schedule a consultation at our Laguna Hills, California, office and explore your treatment options.