Gallstone Disease

Gallstone disease (cholelithiasis), very common in the United States, afflicts around 15% of the adult population and accounts for approximately 1.8 million ambulatory visits per year. Elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy for the removal of gallstones is currently the most commonly performed abdominal operation in the United States, with around 750,000 operations per year. Although the majority of patients with asymptomatic gallstones will never develop symptoms, approximately 25% of these initially asymptomatic patients will develop biliary pain and 3% will develop complications over a 10-year follow-up period. This review discusses the pertinent pathophysiology and treatment of gallstones and their complications. It is imperative for the primary care physician, gastroenterologist, and surgeon to rapidly identify those patients at risk for complications of gallstone disease and offer the best evidence-based therapies available. It is also important for the physician to understand when and if to offer treatment for those patients with asymptomatic gallstone disease. Figures show the mixed micelle, the anatomy of gallstones, radial endoscopic sonogram of a gallstone in common bile duct (CBD), an algorithm depicting the risk of CBD stone in patients with known cholelithiasis, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography images of a large gallstone within CBD and stone fragments in duodenum following lithotripsy and extraction. Tables list risk factors for gallstone formation, common medications associated with gallstone formation, and uncommon complications of gallstone disease. This review contains 5 highly rendered figures, 3 tables, and 53 references.