The harm of gallstone jaundice

Many people believe that jaundice only occurs in newborns. In fact, this is not entirely true. Jaundice can also occur in some adults. Jaundice is mainly a skin disease caused by abnormally high blood bilirubin. Some jaundice is caused by gallstones, which is called gallstone jaundice. Its main symptoms in the human body are yellow skin and often upper abdominal pain. So what are the dangers of suffering from gallstone jaundice?

Jaundice is a disease and physical sign that causes yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes and sclera due to increased bilirubin in the serum. If you suffer from gallstones for a long time, you will have jaundice. Why does gallstones cause jaundice? Jaundice accompanied by fever is seen in acute cholangitis, liver abscess, and septicemia. Viral hepatitis or acute hemolysis may first have fever and then jaundice. Jaundice accompanied by severe upper abdominal pain can be seen in bile duct stones, liver abscess or biliary ascariasis. Severe pain in the right upper abdomen, chills, high fever and jaundice are a triad, indicating acute suppurative cholangitis. Persistent dull pain or bloating in the right upper abdomen can be seen in viral hepatitis, liver abscess or primary liver cancer. Jaundice accompanied by hepatomegaly, if mild to moderately enlarged, soft in texture or of medium hardness and smooth in surface, is seen in viral hepatitis, acute biliary infection or biliary obstruction.

Generally, chills and fever are mostly caused by biliary infection, while yellow eyes are caused by obstructive jaundice due to bile duct stones. Simple gallbladder stones rarely occur. Or small stones may fall from the gallbladder into the common bile duct and cause jaundice.

Jaundice must be treated promptly if it occurs, because obstructive jaundice may result in: worsening ascites due to cirrhosis due to obstructive jaundice, death due to hepatic coma due to obstructive jaundice, death due to systemic failure after gastric cancer surgery due to obstructive jaundice, and death due to infectious shock after obstructive jaundice surgery. The above is why gallstones cause jaundice. From the above explanation, it can be seen that jaundice caused by gallstones is very harmful to the human body. Therefore, once patients are found to have gallstones, they must be treated in time.

What to do if you have gallstones

The treatment of gallstones generally requires different options based on the location and size of the stones, as well as the severity of the patient's condition. The treatment of gallstones is generally divided into two categories: internal medicine and surgery. Lithotripsy in internal medicine is generally used for smaller objects, in a loose location, and for patients with milder conditions, but it takes a longer time. Surgery can cure diseases more quickly, but it may have some impact on the body compared to internal medicine. So what are the methods for treating gallstones?

Surgical method:

1. Traditional open surgery to remove the gallbladder and stones

2. Open laparotomy to explore the bile duct and remove stones

3. Laparoscopic gallbladder removal with micro-incision

4. Laparoscopy combined with choledochoscopy for exploration of the bile duct and removal of stones

Other special treatments:

1. Litholytic therapy: Oral bile acid and other drugs to dissolve stones: The main mechanism of gallstone formation is the change of the physical and chemical composition of bile, the reduction of bile acid pool and the increase of cholesterol concentration. Through experiments, it was found that after oral administration of chenodeoxycholic acid, the bile acid pool can be expanded, and the liver's cholesterol secretion can be reduced, so that the cholesterol in the bile in the gallbladder can be converted to an unsaturated state, and the cholesterol stones in the gallbladder may be dissolved and disappear. Currently, the main drugs for lithotripsy are chenodeoxycholic acid and its derivative ursodeoxycholic acid.

2. Contact litholysis: injecting caprylic acid monoglyceride and other drugs into the PTC to dissolve the lithotripsy

3. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL): The main indication for the treatment of gallstones with shock wave lithotripsy is cholesterol stones in the gallbladder. Oral cholecystography shows negative stones, with no more than 3 stones with a diameter of 12 to 15 mm and only 1 stone with a diameter of 15 to 20 mm, and a normal gallbladder contraction function is required. In order to increase the disappearance rate of stones after crushing, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) 8 mg/kg/d was taken before and after shock wave therapy to achieve a synergistic effect of lithotripsy and litholysis. After the stones disappear, you can continue taking the medicine for half a year to consolidate the therapeutic effect. This method is safe and effective, but it still has a stone recurrence rate of about 11.2%, high treatment costs, and a strict treatment scope, all of which are shortcomings.

4. In vivo contact lithotripsy: inserting a liquid-electric lithotripter, laser or other energy source through a choledochoscope to contact lithotripsy

5. Minimally invasive endoscopic lithotripsy

6. Traditional Chinese medicine lithotripsy and lithotripsy

Gallstones are generally easy to cure. Most of the causes of gallstones are due to unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits. These should be taken seriously and corrected after the gallstones are cured to prevent the recurrence of the disease. It should also serve as a warning to other family members with similar living environments that it is time to change.