Gallstones · Help and support

Help with understanding your gallstones appointment

Your surgical team or GP can explain your scan results, the choices available and the next steps. Ask them to show you on the model what your results mean.

Open the explorer Read the guide

Your surgical team, and your GP, can explain your scan results, the choices available and the next steps. If you have had treatment, use the contact number the hospital gave you if you have any problems.

Someone to talk to

• NHS 111

  If you have pain, a high temperature or yellow skin or eyes and are not sure what to do, call 111 or use NHS 111 online, any time. In an emergency, call 999.

  111

• Guts UK

  A charity for the digestive system, with information about gallstones and the gallbladder.

  gutscharity.org.uk

Words you may hear

Gallbladder

A small pouch under the liver that stores bile.

Bile

A digestive juice made by the liver that helps break down fat.

Gallstones

Hard lumps that form from bile in the gallbladder.

Cystic duct

The short tube joining the gallbladder to the bile duct.

Common bile duct

The tube carrying bile from the liver and gallbladder to the duodenum (the first part of the small bowel).

Biliary colic

Sudden pain in the upper tummy when a gallstone blocks the gallbladder for a short time.

Cholecystitis

An inflamed gallbladder, often caused by a gallstone blocking it.

Ultrasound scan

A scan using sound waves, often the first test for gallstones.

MRCP

A type of MRI scan that shows the bile ducts and the pancreas.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Keyhole surgery to remove the gallbladder.

ERCP

A test and treatment using a camera on a thin tube passed through the mouth to the duodenum, to remove stones from the bile duct.

Stent

A small tube placed in the bile duct to help bile drain.

Jaundice

Yellow skin or eyes, which can happen when a stone blocks the bile duct.

Pancreatitis

An inflamed pancreas. A small stone passing down the bile duct can cause it.

Trusted information

• NHS: gallstones

  Symptoms, tests, treatment and when to get help for gallstones.

• NHS: gallbladder removal

  What happens when the gallbladder is removed, and recovery afterwards.

• NHS: acute cholecystitis

  An inflamed gallbladder: symptoms and treatment.

• Guts UK

  Information about gallstones from the charity for the digestive system.

The explorer is a simplified illustration for a conversation with your team. It cannot interpret your report, make a diagnosis or tell you which treatment is right.