Stones in gall bladder - should women suffer?
Gall bladder stones mostly affects obese females who are in middle age, but even the males and females who are in other age groups can also be affected by this problem.
Nowadays it is not an uncommon disease seen in general surgical wards. patients can present with right upper abdominal pain which might radiate to back. They can also have a swinging fever due to infection.Initial stage in ward hospital treatment is indicated to investigate and treat the acute stage.
In symptomatic patients and for diabetics surgery is indicated to remove the gall bladder with stones.This can be done as an urgent or an elective procedure.
Conventionally,surgery was done as an open procedure, but now the world trend is to do this as a laparoscopic procedure using a camera via small holes in the abdomen, avoiding large surgical scars. This facility is available in our hospitals and most of these surgeries are done using this method nowadays.
But some patients are not suitable for this method and they need the open surgery, which will be decided by the surgeon.
Any questions are welcome to the forum.
Dr. Samira Janaka Jayasinghe