EDUCATION

The treatment and management of gallstones may involve taking a wait-and-see approach or using medications, surgery, or other treatments as decided by you and your doctor. The exception to this approach is anyone who has gallstones larger than 3 centimeters (cm), gallbladder polyps, or is at high risk for gallbladder cancer when surgery would be performed.

Unless your gallbladder is surgically removed, gallstones may occur again.

Gallstone treatment includes:

Lifestyle changes
Medications
Surgery
Alternative and complementary therapies
Other treatments
REFERENCES:

Gallstones. Cleveland Clinic website. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/gallstones. Accessed September 1, 2017.

Gallstones. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T114033/Gallstones. Updated July 22, 2016. Accessed September 1, 2017.

Gallstones. National Institute of Diabetes and Digesrive and Kidney Diseases website. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/gallstones. Updated November 2013. Accessed September 1, 2017.

McVeigh G, Dobinson Evans E, Dwerryhouse S, et al. Gallstone disease: diagnosis and management. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg188/chapter/Introduction. Updated October 2014.

Portincasa P, Di Ciaula A, de Bari O, Garruti G, Palmieri VO, Wang DQ. Management of gallstones and its related complications. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;10(1):93-112.

Last reviewed September 2018 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Michael Woods, MD, FAAP  Last Updated: 9/1/2017