1,500 stones taken out from Gurgaon woman’s gallbladder by doctors

NEW DELHI: Doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital have removed over 1,500 gallstones from a 32-year-old woman’s gallbladder. The patient from Gurgaon is an employee of an IT firm. She had complained of recurring abdomen pain.
Doctors said Ria Sharma sought medical help for symptoms such as bloating, distension, and a feeling of heaviness, particularly after consuming junk food and fatty meals.
She had been taking over-the-counter medicines on her own for the last 3 to 4 months, believing that her symptoms were caused by gas.
During this time, she also experienced recurring pain in the upper right region of her abdomen, which radiated to her back and right shoulder. "Most of the time, the pain was associated with nausea and vomiting."
She reached out to her family physician, who recommended an ultrasound examination. The ultrasound results revealed that the woman's gallbladder was filled with stones, providing an explanation for her symptoms and discomfort.
She consulted Dr Manish K Gupta, vice-chairperson and senior consultant of laparoscopic & general surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi.
Following an evaluation, Ria underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure known as laparoscopic cholecystectomy to remove her gallbladder and the stones inside it.
The surgery involved creating small incisions, measuring 10mm and 5mm, in the patient's abdomen to access and extract the gallbladder. Upon opening the removed gallbladder, the surgical team was astonished to find over 1,500 large and small gallstones.
The patient was discharged from the hospital the day after the operation. She had recovered sufficiently to consume regular meals and ambulate without assistance.
According to doctors, the incidence of gallstones is on the rise due to changing lifestyles. Sometimes, long gaps between meals and long fasting periods lead to the precipitation of bile, which in turn leads to stones.