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Q I am a 28-year-old mother of two. In the past five to six months, I have had mild pains and discomfort in my upper right abdomen as well as bloating and indigestion.
I was diagnosed with gallstones when I had an ultrasound scan. A specialist I saw advised me to have my gallbladder removed. I have several gallstones, the
biggest measuring 1.4cm.
Can I lead a normal life after my gallbladder is removed? Will there be major
complications like excessive bile?
A It is quite possible the gallstones detected are causing inflammation, known as chronic cholecystitis, in your gallbladder, leading to your symptoms. But then again, the discovery of gallstones may distract you from the truth.
 Gallstones are not uncommon even in otherwise healthy individuals. Often, they can be left alone if they do not cause any problems or show symptoms. This being the case, it would be wise to exclude other
common causes of upper abdominal discomfort, bloating and indigestion. Diseases of the stomach can often give rise to such symptoms.
Because the discomfort arising from internal organs such as the stomach and gallbladder tend to be vague and limited to a small area, it is often difficult and inaccurate to try and differentiate disease of the two organs based on whether the discomfort is more to the left or right of the upper abdomen.
Prior to surgery to remove the gallbladder, you may wish to consider an endoscopic examination of the stomach. This is a direct visual examination of the inner surface of the stomach through the use of a camera mounted on a flexible tube. The camera is inserted through the mouth into the stomach.
Most of the time, this procedure is done after sedation so the patient is asleep and feels no significant discomfort. In expert hands, it is a fairly safe examination with a very low likelihood of complications.
Common diseases of the stomach leading to symptoms similar to yours will include inflammation (also known as gastritis), gastric ulcer and gastric cancer (though gastric cancer is uncommon in your age group). These diseases of the stomach may be caused by a type of bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.
If so, the treatment will be the use of medication to remove the bacteria and reduce the amount of acid in the stomach to allow it to heal.
It is worth investigating the stomach for diseases to avoid the removal of the gallbladder which may not be the source of the problem.
However, if after careful evaluation, it is found that the gallstones are indeed the cause of your symptoms, removing it should not have a big or long-term impact on your life.
The gallbladder is a storage organ for the bile that is produced in the liver. Bile has a role in the digestive process, especially the digestion of fat and oil. After the gallbladder is removed, the liver will continue to produce bile for digestion.
DR WONG SENG WENG
Medical director, The Cancer Centre
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