Doctors find 400 gallstones in Vietnamese woman’s gallbladder
Friday, December 28, 2018, 23:02 GMT+7
A woman from the northern Vietnamese province of Thai Nguyen whose gallbladder was surgically removed due to chronic inflammation was astounded to learn that the organ contained nearly 400 gallstones.
The 60-year-old patient was admitted to the E Hospital in Hanoi with severe pain in the lower quadrant.
Doctors diagnosed her with chronic inflammation of the gallbladder, a condition known as cholecystitis, and found that there was no bile in the patient’s organ.
A laparoscopic surgery was immediately indicated to remove the patient’s inflamed gallbladder on Thursday, according to Dr. Do Truong Son, head of E Hospital’s surgical division.
Following the surgery, nearly 400 gallstones were discovered inside the woman’s gallbladder, with each yellow-and-brown stone measuring up to one centimeter in diameter, the doctor said.
According to the patient, she first learnt of the presence of the gallstones back in 2014 but only took medicine to try and make them disappear, thinking it was not a serious condition.
Dr. Son said it was not the first time a patient with such a large number of gallstones had been reported in Vietnam.
People over sixty years old who do not exercise, are overweight or obese, or suffer from diabetes are especially prone to gallstones.
A diet high in cholesterol also increases the risk of having gallstones, he said.
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