Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gall bladder, which is a pear-shaped organ lying on the upper right side of the abdomen, just below the liver. The gallbladder plays an important role in digestion, by secreting bile into the digestive tract, which emulsifies (‘breaks down’) fats in the food. However, in certain cases, removal of the gallbladder may be necessary and while this does affect digestion of fats, it is not essential to sustaining life.

continue reading Gallbladder Removal Surgery – Cholecystectomy

Characteristics of Gallbladder Pain

Pain arising from the gallbladder or bile ducts usually appears below the right lower rib, 3-5 inches (7-12 cm) from the vertical mid-line. It may spread into the right lower or upper back, shoulder blade or shoulder. Other causes of right upper abdominal pain are liver, right kidney, ureter or adrenal gland, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, skin, muscles and ribs in affected area.

continue reading Gallbladder Pain and Other Symptoms of Gallbladder Disease

Blood Tests in Gallbladder Disease

When upper right abdominal pain suggests gallbladder disease or obstruction of the common bile duct, the following blood tests may be performed:

• Bilirubin and liver enzyme alkaline phosphatase (AP) are often elevated in cases of gallstones in the gallbladder and common bile duct (1)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanin aminotransferase (ALT) are often elevated in cases of gallstones in the common bile duct (1)
• White blood cells are usually elevated in the inflamed gallbladder or common bile duct (mostly due to gallstones) (1)
• Tumor marker CA 19-9 may be significantly elevated in gallbladder or common bile duct cancer, which are rare before 60 years of age (2)

continue reading Gallbladder Tests: Ultrasound, CT, HIDA Scan, ERCP

Diagnosis of Stomach (Abdominal) Disorders

If you have stomach problems, you can check a medical history questionnaire to prepare yourself for appointment with yourdoctor. After listening your symptoms and performing physical examination, your doctor may suggest you to have additional investigations. It may save you a lot of nerves and money, if you know exactly, what a certain investigation or test can show and what not. You can also check main causes of abdominal symptoms.

General Tests

• Blood, Stool, Urine and Neurological tests

Food Allergy and Intolerance Tests

• Skin tests, Breath tests, Elimination diet and Food Challenge tests
• Low-FODMAP Diet trial in IBS
• Low-Fructose diet trial in Fructose Malabsorption 

continue reading Stomach Disorders – Available Tests and Investigations

Swelling of the leg may involve a noticeable distension of the shin or calf, ankles, feet or toes.  Foot swelling may be a common occurrence which most of us will experience at some point in life after a long day of standing or sitting but may also be an indication of a more serious pathology as in certain cardiovascular disorders.

Recurrent or persistent swelling of the feet should be investigated by a medical practitioner especially if you have a history of cardiovascular disease or have noticed a change in color, sensation or mobility of the leg, foot or toe.

continue reading Swollen Leg & Swelling of the Feet, Ankle & Toes

LIVER DAMAGE and LIVER FAILURE

Liver damage refers to impaired liver structure (liver cells, vessels, biliary ducts) due to any cause. A mild liver damage, like in fatty liver, may cause only little impairment of liver function and no or few symptoms, while severe liver damage may lead to life threatening liver failure.

continue reading Liver Damage and Liver Failure – Symptoms and Signs

White Diarrhea Due to Gallstones

Normally, bile, produced in the liver, is temporarily stored in the gallbladder and from there, after a fatty meal, expelled into the duodenum.

Gallbladder stones may press on the main bile duct and obstruct it from the outside, thus preventing the bile flow into the duodenum. A small gallstone may move from the gallbladder into the main bile duct, thus obstructing it from the inside. Symptoms of bile duct obstruction include one or more of the following:

continue reading White Gallbladder-Related Diarrhea and Green Bile Salts Diarrhea

Normal bowel movement color can be any shade of brown, or some other colors, but not white.

The bowel movement has its color due to the bile which is originally green, but changes into the brown during the passage through the bowel. 

Causes of White Bowel Movement

When less than normal or no bile is excreted from the liver into the bowel (cholestasis), excreted stool will be pale, clay, gray, or white. Someone can describe it as a light color, but this is not bright yellow bowel movement, and also not mucus in the bowel movement that is jelly-like and translucent. Main causes of white bowel movement are:

continue reading Pale, Clay, Gray or White Bowel Movement and White Diarrhea

The color of the normal bowel movement is any shade of brown (usually medium brown), or brown/green. When stool appears apparently yellow/pale, and no relation to ingested food can be found, the following disorders should be considered:

1. DIARRHEA

In diarrhea, food travels through the intestine fast, so intestinal bacteria do not have time to convert bilirubin into stercobilin that gives stool its normal brown color. In other words, the stool in diarrhea from any cause may be yellow.

continue reading Yellow Bowel Movement and Yellow Diarrhea – Causes

How a Healthy Bowel Works?

Terms explanation:

• The GUT refers to the complete digestive tract from the mouth to the anus.
• The BOWEL consists of small intestine (and this from duodenum, jejunum and ileum), and from large intestine (and this from cecum, appendix, colon, and rectum)
• The STOMACH is an organ lying between esophagus (gullet) and duodenum; stomach also refers to the whole abdomen.

Bowel anatomy (Picture 1). The stomach lies right below the bottom end of the breastbone. The small intestine (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) fills up the most of the abdominal cavity. The large intestine starts in the lower right abdomen with the appendix, runs up as the ascending colon toward the liver, then as the transverse colon below the stomach, then on the left side down as the descending colon, in the pelvis it widens into the sigmoid colon, and ends as the rectum and the anal opening (anus).

continue reading Small and Large Intestine – Anatomy, Function, Flora, Pictures