Gallbladder Removal – Primary Stones

Transcript

So once the gallbladder is removed, it’s done. There is something else that can develop rarely. And that’s what’s called the primary stones in the ducts of the liver. That means that now that there’s no gallbladder and the stones formed in the gallbladder, sometimes, tiny particles will lead to stones in the ducts of the liver. It’s possible, fortunately it doesn’t happen very often. And if anything, it could be the fact that the stones were there to begin with. They might have passed already from the gallbladder before and now they’re in the common bile duct, but they just didn’t become what’s called symptomatic. They didn’t let anybody know that they’re there by symptoms or by blood work. So stones in the common bile duct can pass from the gallbladder or they can form spontaneously. After the gallbladder is removed, the chances are very small and they’re very effective treatment, as we talked about, something called an ERCP where a gastroenterologist does what’s called an endoscopy, they look in the stomach, they cannulate, they put a little tube in the ducts of the liver, and they’re able to remove the stones from the ducts of the liver, with that procedure usually not requiring another operation.