Can gallstones within the liver that don't cause pain be ignored?

Written by Liu Wu Cai
Hepatobiliary Surgery
Updated on September 09, 2024
00:00
00:00

For patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones who do not experience any discomfort, abdominal pain, or jaundice, it is possible to temporarily observe without special treatment. However, special attention should be paid to the diet. It is advisable to avoid spicy and stimulating foods such as chili peppers, barbecue, and garlic, as these inflammatory irritants may cause local inflammation and even lead to acute cholecystitis and cholangitis. Additionally, the diet should also avoid foods high in cholesterol and fats, such as animal offal and fatty meats, as these foods can exacerbate symptoms. Therefore, although patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones may not exhibit any symptoms, it is still important to pay attention to daily life.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Wu Cai
Hepatobiliary Surgery
53sec home-news-image

Do people with intrahepatic bile duct stones experience weight loss?

Generally, patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones do not experience weight loss. If there is a significant weight decrease over a short period of time, resulting in weight loss or even cachexia, attention should be raised. It is necessary to complete relevant examinations to determine if there are malignant tumors. For patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones, although they may repeatedly experience upper abdominal pain and discomfort, along with nausea and vomiting, and sometimes concurrent cholangitis that results in jaundice, generally, it does not affect their weight. Of course, the condition of patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones should be actively managed. For treatment, typically, laparoscopic choledochotomy for stone removal is chosen, which can completely eliminate the stones and significantly improve the patients' quality of life.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Wu Cai
Hepatobiliary Surgery
49sec home-news-image

Is the recurrence rate of intrahepatic bile duct stones high?

Intrahepatic bile duct stones can potentially recur. Intrahepatic bile duct stones are often accompanied by acute cholangitis, resulting in significant right upper abdominal pain, and may also present with nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. When symptoms occur, surgery can be performed to open the bile duct and remove the stones for a radical cure. However, there is also a possibility of recurrence in postoperative patients. The likelihood of recurrence cannot be definitively determined but should be assessed based on the condition of the illness. Therefore, patients who have undergone surgery should also have regular ultrasonographic follow-ups to dynamically observe changes in their condition and prevent the worsening of the disease.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Wu Cai
Hepatobiliary Surgery
1min 1sec home-news-image

Do intrahepatic bile duct stones fear cold?

Patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones can possibly experience chills. This is because patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones often have concurrent cholangitis, which manifests as chills, high fever, prominent upper abdominal pain, and jaundice. In severe cases, it can even lead to acute suppurative cholangitis, septic shock, and death. Therefore, for patients with intrahepatic bile duct stones presenting with significant symptoms, early surgical treatment is advised. Surgery involves opening the bile duct to remove the stones, which can be curative. Post-surgery, it is still necessary to avoid spicy and irritating foods, such as peppers, barbecues, and garlic, and to mainly consume a bland diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits to facilitate recovery. After recovery, patients generally do not experience significant discomfort.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Tao
Hepatobiliary Surgery
41sec home-news-image

How is intrahepatic bile duct stones treated?

Intrahepatic bile duct stones refer to stones located in the branches of the bile duct above the junction of the left and right hepatic ducts. Surgical treatment is currently the main method of treatment. Treatment should be based on the number and distribution of stones within the bile ducts, the location and extent of hepatic and biliary strictures, pathological changes in the liver, the state of liver function, and the patient's overall symptoms. Appropriate surgical approaches should be adopted, including hepatectomy, high position bile ductotomy for stone removal, transhepatic choledochotomy for stone removal, biliary-intestinal internal drainage, liver transplantation, etc.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Tao
Hepatobiliary Surgery
48sec home-news-image

"Intrahepatic bile duct stones"

Intrahepatic bile duct stones, as the name implies, are stones located within the bile ducts inside the liver. The biliary tract is divided into extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts. The intrahepatic bile ducts refer to the left and right hepatic ducts and their related branches. The intrahepatic bile ducts evolve from the left and right hepatic ducts into the common hepatic duct, common bile duct, and gallbladder, which are part of what we commonly refer to as the extrahepatic bile ducts. The symptoms of intrahepatic bile duct stones are not as apparent as those of common bile duct stones, but most intrahepatic bile duct stones cause upper abdominal pain in patients; generally, jaundice does not occur.