Consultant is first in county to use new method for treating gallstones

4:00pm Tuesday 10th April 2012 in Bradford by Claire Lomax

a doctor in Bradford has become the first in Yorkshire to use a new technique to shatter gallstones in patients.

Gallstones are stones, usually made of cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder. in most cases they do not cause any symptoms. however, in a small number of cases, gallstones can become trapped in a duct, which leads to a range of symptoms, including a sudden intense pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting and jaundice.

Risk factors include obesity and age, with older people more likely to develop gallstones.

Women are also two to three times more likely to develop gallstones than men.

Traditionally, patients needing treatment for gallstones, many of them elderly, have faced major surgery and hospital stays of up to ten days, or frequent visits to hospital for treatment to put in stents.

Health bosses in Bradford have now invested £50,000 in new equipment called SpyGlass from a company called Boston Scientific.

it consists of a baby endoscope – a tiny flexible tube and eye piece to see inside the body – which can pass up a standard endoscope and into the bile duct to directly visualise abnormalities.

tiny forceps can then be used by the doctor to take a biopsy, to aid diagnosis and management of disease or a lithotripter – a device which emits electrohydraulic shock waves – can pass up the baby scope to shatter gallstones.

it will be used on patients who have stones which can’t be removed surgically or using standard endoscopic techniques.

Dr Conrad Beckett, a consultant gastroenterologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was the first to use SpyGlass, making Bradford one of only eight other centres in the country carrying out the procedure.

Dr Beckett, who has 18 years experience, trained in the technique in Aintree, Liverpool.

he said: “It is a procedure which is lower risk for the patient and can be done as a day case. it takes about an hour-and-a-half for a big stone and because it is not comfortable for the patient it is done under general anaesthetic.

“The first procedure went very well and we crushed a big stone nicely. hopefully the patient won’t have to come back again.

“We are talking about doing a couple of cases a months and will start with the backlog of our own patients and will then be happy to take referrals from across Yorkshire.”

more Bradford stories

Consultant is first in county to use new method for treating gallstones

4:00pm Tuesday 10th April 2012 in Bradford By Claire Lomax

a doctor in Bradford has become the first in Yorkshire to use a new technique to shatter gallstones in patients.

Gallstones are stones, usually made of cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder. In most cases they do not cause any symptoms. however, in a small number of cases, gallstones can become trapped in a duct, which leads to a range of symptoms, including a sudden intense pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting and jaundice.

Risk factors include obesity and age, with older people more likely to develop gallstones.

Women are also two to three times more likely to develop gallstones than men.

Traditionally, patients needing treatment for gallstones, many of them elderly, have faced major surgery and hospital stays of up to ten days, or frequent visits to hospital for treatment to put in stents.

Health bosses in Bradford have now invested £50,000 in new equipment called SpyGlass from a company called Boston Scientific.

it consists of a baby endoscope – a tiny flexible tube and eye piece to see inside the body – which can pass up a standard endoscope and into the bile duct to directly visualise abnormalities.

tiny forceps can then be used by the doctor to take a biopsy, to aid diagnosis and management of disease or a lithotripter – a device which emits electrohydraulic shock waves – can pass up the baby scope to shatter gallstones.

it will be used on patients who have stones which can’t be removed surgically or using standard endoscopic techniques.

Dr Conrad Beckett, a consultant gastroenterologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was the first to use SpyGlass, making Bradford one of only eight other centres in the country carrying out the procedure.

Dr Beckett, who has 18 years experience, trained in the technique in Aintree, Liverpool.

He said: “It is a procedure which is lower risk for the patient and can be done as a day case. it takes about an hour-and-a-half for a big stone and because it is not comfortable for the patient it is done under general anaesthetic.

“The first procedure went very well and we crushed a big stone nicely. hopefully the patient won’t have to come back again.

“We are talking about doing a couple of cases a months and will start with the backlog of our own patients and will then be happy to take referrals from across Yorkshire.”

more Bradford stories

I remember the first time a friend told me she was using the birth control injection, Depo-Provera. she lamented that no matter what she did to lose weight, she seemed to be gaining. and it gave her mood swings. But, hey, at least she wasn’t overweight and moody from being preggers! (Though you would think with symptoms like that, you might as well be!) well, now research has gone and found another lovely side effect of the birth control shot: a 50 percent higher risk of breast cancer.

Women who used the shot of synthetic hormones for at least a year had double the risk of getting breast cancer, according to the study published in the journal Cancer Research. Family history, obesity, age, and pregnancy history didn’t seem to make a difference. Creepy, no?

There is some silver lining: Users’ risk dropped to that of non-users after several months of being injection-free. Plus, risk is low to begin with in younger women — like those in their 30s (1 in 233, according to the National Cancer Institute) — who tend to be the ones on Depo.

But here’s my Q … have they studied the long-term effects that do linger? there are plenty from certain types of birth control pills (vaginal dryness, gallstones, low libido), so I wouldn’t put the same past the shot. especially because the fake progesterone in the shot is the same used in the postmenopausal hormone therapy pill, Prempro, which was shown to boost women’s risk of breast cancer by 24 percent.

That finding plus this new one just serve as further proof that women need to be very cautious about using any drug made with fake hormones. It’s clear the body simply doesn’t know what to make of them, and they are prone to throwing our super-individual, delicate lady hormone balance off. even the maker of the drug, Pfizer, notes that women have to consider the “benefits and the risks” of their birth control. and if they’re admitting it, you know it’s true!

Does this study freak you out?

November 28, 2011  |         LIKE THIS ARTICLE ? Join our mailing list: Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Personal Health headlines via email.        

We know too much drinking can be hazardous to our health. but new research suggests that drinking too little might be hazardous, too.

I don’t want to go to rehab, but a raft of recent studies show that moderate alcohol consumption lowers our risks for many dire conditions including heart disease, stroke, gallstones, diabetes and dementia. some studies even suggest that the answer to pesky menopause symptoms comes in six-packs and goes great with pretzels.

The keyword here is "moderate." some studies define this as one drink per week; others as up to four drinks per day. this haziness notwithstanding, these studies show that heavy drinkers are far more likely than moderate drinkers to die from certain diseases.

But so are people who don’t drink at all.

It’s a bell curve. but while one half of the bell is well, duh, the other half — the half involving abstinence — is pretty shocking. In study after study, abstainers get sick and die sooner and in larger numbers than moderate drinkers.

In these studies, "you get this protective effect no matter what you drink: wine, beer or liquor," says nutrition therapist Karen Scheuner.

Absinthe, beaujolais, King Cobra: It’s all good — or good for you.

"the benefits don’t increase with amount," Scheuner says, "and they disappear altogether if you consume four or more drinks per day."

A study published this summer found that women who consume one drink daily and men who consume two drinks daily are 23 percent less likely than nondrinkers to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Heavy drinkers, defined here as consumers of at least three to five drinks daily, face higher Alzheimer’s risks than both moderate drinkers and abstainers. (Well, duh.)

And a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that, compared to abstinence, drinking one to three alcoholic beverages daily is associated with a 33 to 56 percent lower incidence of diabetes — and imbibing over three drinks daily is associated with a 43 percent higher incidence of diabetes. (Duh again.)

A study presented two months ago at the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress found that both abstainers and heavy drinkers are nearly one and a half times as likely to develop asthma as are moderate drinkers, defined here as consumers of one to six alcoholic beverages per week. Abstainers face the highest asthma risk of all, topping even that of heavy drinkers.

A 2007 study found that drinking at least one alcoholic beverage daily is associated with a 30-percent lower risk than abstinence of developing one type of kidney cancer. but its authors warn that alcohol consumption — light, heavy and moderate — is linked with increased rates of breast cancer, liver cancer, oral cancer, esophageal cancer and other cancers. I don’t like those odds.

A study published in the new England Journal of Medicine that tracked over 22,000 men for more than 12 years found that those who regularly consumed as little as one drink a week had a lower stroke risk than did abstainers. a study published in the Journal of Urology that tracked over 120,000 men found that those who regularly consumed at least 1.3 ounces of alcohol daily — about half as much as is found in your average Manhattan — had a 35-percent lower risk than abstainers did of developing prostatic hyperplasia, whose symptoms include incontinence and a wide array of other urinary woes.

Other recent studies found moderate drinkers facing significantly less risk than abstainers for macular degeneration, arthritis, osteoporosis — and even death itself.

A 2010 study found that abstainers’ all-cause mortality rate is twice as high as that of moderate drinkers. Examining death rates among middle-aged people, this study also found a 70 percent higher mortality rate for heavy drinkers than for moderate drinkers. so does abstaining mean you’ll die that much sooner than both your social-drinker, daiquiri-a-day ex and alcoholic Uncle Joe, who blacks out in alleyways?

Political correctness has reached medical school. Last week, I was talking to a student about what sort of patients tend to be affected by gallstones. I mentioned the handy, alliterative phrase by which, in my day, we used to remember this at-risk group, and was told in no uncertain terms that medical students didn’t talk like that any more.

The gallbladder is a hollow pear-shaped organ, in the right side of the abdominal cavity. Its main job is to store around 50ml of bile, first formed in the liver. After a meal, a hormone prompts the gallbladder to contract, releasing its contents into the duodenum. Once here, bile coats any fat which has been eaten, so facilitating digestion by enzymes.

Cholangiocarcinoma (gallbladder cancer) is the most serious disease to affect this organ. almost always a disease of old age, it tends to be diagnosed at a late stage, by which time the liver bed is often involved. This makes surgery difficult and the prognosis poor.

Gallstones are much more common, formed from cholesterol, calcium and bile salts. Problems occur when the stones become too big to pass easily through the neck of the gallbladder, or when they get stuck in the duct that drains from the gallbladder into the duodenum. Symptoms may include a temperature, pain in the right upper quarter of the abdomen and jaundice. sometimes the offending stone will pass by itself. but it may be necessary to remove the gallbladder surgically.

Back when I trained, the arrival of a patient suffering from abdominal pain who happened to be “40, fat, fair, female and fertile” prompted a diagnosis of gallstones.

Gabriel Weston is a surgeon and author of Direct Red: A Surgeon’s Story

You just took a breath and didn’t even notice. Dealing with asthma is a little like having to breathe through a straw. It turns out that every breath we take is a memorable event when we have to work for it, which is why most asthma sufferers keep their stash of meds close.

Though asthma is considered an incurable disease, it is very manageable thanks to steroids. I’m asked all the time, “Aren’t there any other options?” the answer is yes.

Take my husband, for example, who is a longtime sufferer. his steroid stash is expiring in a drawer because of non-use. his asthma didn’t go away; he simply found a better way to manage it.

I don’t advocate getting rid of any options that enhance breathing, but there certainly are some powerful alternatives for those interested in something less intrusive than pharmaceuticals.

It’s always wonderful to discover yet another herb that works so well, and khella falls into that category. Khella is a species of a flowering plant in the carrot family. It’s known by many names. One is toothpick weed and — you guessed it — toothpicks are also made from the stems of the plant in the Middle East. It can be found throughout the world, but is native to Europe, Asia and North America.

If you find khella growing in a field, it looks like celery or wild parsley. It has wispy soft, fine feathery leaves with clusters of white flowers. tiny fruits have grey seeds used to make khella tincture. It takes about two months for khella to grow flowers and when the flower heads turn brown, the seeds are ready for harvest.

The biological action of khella works as a vasodilator and reduces blood pressure by inhibiting calcium influx into the cell. Khella is effective as a smooth muscle relaxant, and the asthma drug cromolyn is a synthetic derivative of it. when an herb is used, the synergistic components are a big reason why side effects are rare as compared to a drug made from an herb. when drugs are made from herbs, only the active ingredient is used, leaving the synergy out and creating side effects.

Khella also has antibacterial, antifungal and preservative properties. Besides being used for asthma and cardiac problems, khella has been shown effective in treating bronchitis and emphysema. It increases HDL (the good cholesterol); helps diminish risk of stroke and heart attack, spasms and constriction of the urinary tract and bladder; relieves gallbladder pain and helps with passage of gallstones.

If you have an allergic reaction to Khella, you could experience nausea, vomiting or changes in vision. all of these symptoms disappear with discontinued use. Khella should not be used in conjunction with blood thinners such as warfarin and calcium channel blockers that lower blood pressure. Do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding. Do not use if you have liver disease, and always check with your doctor before adding a supplement to your regimen.

Precautions are always necessary because interactions are possible. Khella is another powerful example of nature’s pharmacy and is an alternative for many asthma sufferers.

Dr. Linda Johnson is a naturopathic doctor based in Alamogordo. Contact her at 434-6400 or via e-mail at balancedhealth@live.com.

My son is suffering from gallstones. Some times he suffer in vomitting and indisation. the local docter give him some medicine then he cure. but after that again he fall in disease. Is it occure for the gallstone?

You feel like your stomach is literally on fire! You cramp, feel like you are going to throw up. Stay away from dairy, spicy and greasy foods!! I had mine taken out 12 years ago, same day surgery, felt much better after wards! Hope your son is better soon!!!

Pain lots and lots of pain.

I had my Gall Bladder removed recently. You have the symptoms of diarrhea and side pain. I wasn't sick though. I felt excellent after having the Surgery done. I was sent home the same day. I had the Surgery where my Mom works.

My nan has them.
She has found a way to cope with them – so, she can avoid surgery, by not eating rich foods, as this used to make her vomit and made life, extremely painful for herself.

Of course my doctor said there is no other way but I refuse to go into surgery, especially when I never had any pain or symptoms of gallstones, they just showed up on my ultrasound.

There's a herbal tincture called Chionanthus Virginica that dissolves gallstones.
The TCM cure is to expel them using a mix of olive oil, lemon juice and epsom salts taken before bedtime. You can find the protocol online if you look for it.
Most people have gallstones and don't even know it. if you're asymptomatic no problem. Unnecessary gallbladder surgeries are epidemic (so are routine hysterectomies).

Lithotripsy uses ultrasonic shock waves to break gallstones into small pieces which can be safely passed, but this method is not suitable for all cases. Cholesterol gallstones can sometimes be dissolved by oral ursodeoxycholic acid but it can take years to work.

If they are not causing you any grief you probably don't need to worry about it, but gallstones can lead to blockages which can be nasty – perhaps your doctor is worried about that.

Olive oil, lemon juice and epsom salts don't work – what comes out looks like gallstones but actually they are bile-stained "soaps" produced by partial saponification of the oil.

Chionanthus Virginica has been used for gallbladder inflammation, I doubt it will have any effect on gallstones. perhaps @thenoseknows would care to post some substantiating evidence for that claim.

See: mayoclinic.com/health/gallsto…

natural-cancer-cures.com/remo…

might not work and there are some risks
surgery is usually the best way. you dont really need a gallbladder anyways
good luck

So like I said I was recently diagnosed with gallstones but my symptoms are normal but weird… when I get upset my gallbladder hurts. when I lift heavy things it hurts and when I haven't ate anything or have an empty stomach or gas my stomach hurts.. also it happens after I have a fatty meal but not til the next day it seems like… Are these weird symptoms also symptoms of gallstones in my gallbladder???

I have lost 30 pounds in the last 4 months with with diet and exercise, but for the past week I've been getting these random, weird aches around my upper abdomen and ribcage.

I have heard that rapid weight loss could lead to the formation of gallstones, or cause dormant ones to become active.

I am going to the doctor on Monday, but it feels like it's getting a bit worse. Should I be worried until then? The pain is not excruciating like a gallstone attack, but all my symptoms seem to point to gallstones.

This is a good possibility but this might also point to other digestion organs too .If the gallstone aches and noises are all on the right side then this is also where all the right organs like pancreas, liver, and stomach lay besides the gallbladder. The gallbladder stones cause mostly pain and other symptoms like your have but the pain is what almost all have above the others. Remember to keep a daily journal to write anything unusual down in so that both you and the GI doctor can see if there's a pattern and when it started. Water helps the immune system flush any unusual cells from the body along with the liver that can rejuvenate. I hope this will help give you somewhat more info. good luck and God Bless

Your suspicions are probably correct. A lot of people get their first gallbladder attack while dieting. Increasing your daily water intake, taking some pain medication regularly plus an antacid may help settle this down until you can get to your family doctor. and, following a bland diet – no greasy, fatty, fried or spicy foods until it is better.