How is gallstone disease treated?
Disease description:
体检发现有胆结石。平时偶尔会疼，也不太严重。我想知道怎么治疗，是吃药就行，还是得手术？ I was found to have gallstones during a physical examination. I occasionally experience mild pain, not too severe. I would like to know how it can be treated—can it be managed with medication alone, or is surgery required?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Gao Jun
The treatment for gallstones must be determined based on the stone size, symptoms, and the patient's overall health condition, and mainly includes conservative observation, medication, and surgical treatment.
For asymptomatic gallstones, conservative observation is usually adopted. Regular abdominal ultrasound examinations are recommended to monitor changes in the stones. Additionally, maintaining a light diet and reducing intake of high-cholesterol and high-fat foods is advised to prevent stone enlargement or symptom onset.
If gallstones cause discomfort such as pain, medications can be used for symptom relief. For example, during biliary colic attacks, antispasmodic medications like anisodamine can be administered as prescribed to alleviate pain; when infection is present, antibiotics are required to control inflammation. However, medications generally cannot cure gallstones completely.
Surgery is the primary treatment option when stones are large, symptoms frequently recur, gallbladder function is impaired, or there is a risk of gallbladder cancer. Common surgical options include cholecystectomy, which directly removes the gallbladder and effectively prevents recurrence. For some eligible patients, lithotomy with gallbladder preservation may be an alternative choice, which maintains gallbladder function but carries a certain risk of stone recurrence after surgery.
