Will gallbladder removal cause bile duct stones?

Bile duct stones are very common and are a type of gallstones. There are many treatments for bile duct stones. If the condition becomes very serious, some people will choose cholecystectomy for treatment. The gallbladder is where bile is stored and it also promotes digestion. If the gallbladder is removed, it may cause indigestion in the human body. So after gallbladder removal, we should pay attention to our diet. So will I still get bile duct stones after cholecystectomy? Please see the following article.

1. Some patients have both gallbladder stones and bile duct stones, while some patients only have bile duct stones but no gallbladder stones. This shows that even if the gallbladder is not removed, bile duct stones will develop.

2. The composition of gallbladder stones and bile duct stones is different. Gallbladder stones are mostly cholesterol stones, while bile duct stones are mostly pigment stones.

3. Millions of cholecystectomies are performed worldwide every year. After long-term clinical observation, no increase in bile duct stones has been found in patients after cholecystectomy.

Clinical manifestations

1. Extrahepatic bile duct stones

The typical symptoms are biliary colic at the beginning, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Patients with biliary tract infection have chills and high fever. Then jaundice appears clinically, and the typical Charcot triad appears, namely abdominal pain, chills, high fever and jaundice.

(1) Abdominal pain is mostly located under the xiphoid process or in the right upper abdomen, and is paroxysmal or continuous pain that worsens paroxysmically and often radiates to the right shoulder and back.

(2) Chills and high fever often occur after severe abdominal pain, presenting as a remittent fever, with body temperature reaching as high as 39°C to 40°C.

(3) Jaundice About 70% of bile duct patients may develop jaundice 12 to 24 hours after upper abdominal colic, chills, and high fever. Jaundice is accompanied by itchy skin, dark tea-colored urine, lighter or clay-colored stools. Jaundice may fluctuate in most patients and improve in about a week.

2. Intrahepatic bile duct stones

There may be no symptoms or there may be deep and persistent pain in the liver area, chest and back, which affects sleep. When acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis occurs, there may be chills, fever, hepatomegaly, tenderness, and no or mild jaundice. Sepsis and shock may occur in the late stage.