Gallstones: Watch and wait, or intervene?

Mounir Ibrahim; Shashank Sarvepalli; Gareth Morris-Stiff; Maged Rizk; Amit Bhatt; R Matthew Walsh; Umar Hayat; Ari Garber; John Vargo; Carol A Burke

doi:10.3949/ccjm.85a.17035

Gallstones: Watch and wait, or intervene?

Cleve Clin J Med. 2018 Apr;85(4):323-331. doi: 10.3949/ccjm.85a.17035.

Authors

Mounir Ibrahim¹, Shashank Sarvepalli², Gareth Morris-Stiff^{3

4

5}, Maged Rizk^{1

6}, Amit Bhatt^{1

5}, R Matthew Walsh^{7

8}, Umar Hayat², Ari Garber^{1

9}, John Vargo^{10

11}, Carol A Burke¹²

Affiliations

¹ Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
² Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
³ HPB Surgery, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁴ Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁵ Clinical Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁶ Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁷ Rich Family Distinguished Chair of Digestive Diseases, Chairman, Department of General Surgery, Digestive Disease Institute, Chairman, Academic Department of Surgery, Education Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁸ Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁹ Clinical Instructor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
¹⁰ Chairman, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
¹¹ Associate Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
¹² Vice Chair, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA. [email protected].

PMID: 29634468
DOI: 10.3949/ccjm.85a.17035

Abstract

Gallstones are common in the United States, affecting an estimated 1 in 7 adults. Fortunately, they are asymptomatic in up to 80% of cases, and current guidelines do not recommend cholecystectomy unless they cause symptoms. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the standard treatment for symptomatic gallstones, acute cholecystitis, and gallstone pancreatitis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Cholecystectomy / methods*
Cholecystitis, Acute / therapy
Female
Gallstones / therapy*
Humans
Male
Pancreatitis / therapy
Watchful Waiting*