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Gallstones Treatment
Last Updated: July 3, 2026
Lifestyle Modifications
Reduce symptom frequency and severity, prevent progression of gallstone disease.
- Adopting a low-fat, high-fiber diet to reduce symptoms and manage weight.
- Avoiding foods known to trigger symptoms, such as fatty or greasy meals.
- Maintaining a healthy body weight and avoiding rapid weight loss, which can increase gallstone risk.
ConsultDietitianGeneral Practitioner
Medicinal Treatment
Manage pain and symptoms, and in specific cases, dissolve gallstones.
- Over-the-counter painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen for managing mild to moderate pain.
- Prescription-strength analgesics for severe pain episodes (biliary colic).
- Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) for dissolving certain types of cholesterol gallstones in select patients who cannot undergo surgery, though this can be a lengthy process.
ConsultGeneral PractitionerGastroenterologist
Surgical Treatment
Remove gallstones, alleviate symptoms, and prevent future complications.
- Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Minimally invasive surgery to remove the gallbladder through small incisions, the most common treatment for symptomatic gallstones.
- Open Cholecystectomy: Traditional surgery to remove the gallbladder through a larger incision, typically reserved for complex cases or complications.
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP): A procedure to remove gallstones from the common bile duct, often performed before or during gallbladder removal.
ConsultGeneral SurgeonGastroenterologist
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About This Disease
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