Sometimes, when it comes to problems in the abdominal area, an ultrasound is not clear enough for a diagnosis. In such cases, an Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) may be performed. This procedure gives the doctor a clear view of the duodenum, bile duct, pancreatic ducts, gallbladder and papilla of Vater.

This procedure is usually performed under intravenous sedation without general anesthesia. This procedure involves the use of a duodenoscope, which can be described as a thin, long, flexible tube with a camera at one end. It also has a fiber optic bundle that transmits lights to the camera and a chip to transmit video images to a TV screen.

This is inserted through the patient s mouth and sent down the throat through the food pipe to the stomach and duodenum while the patient is lying on his or her back. The air pipe is left undisturbed so as to not interfere with the patient s breathing. Since the patient is not under general anesthesia, he or she can move and turn according to the doctor s needs. The papilla of Vater is a small nipple like structure with an opening to the bile duct and pancreatic duct. Once this has been identified, a small plastic catheter is passed through the duodenoscope into the bile duct or pancreatic duct through the papilla. Dye is then injected into the area and X-rays are taken of the bile ducts and pancreatic duct. In cases where a biopsy is needed, other instruments can also be passed through the endoscope. Plastic or metal stents can also be passed through this to relieve obstructions in the bile ducts and pancreatic ducts.

ERCP can be used to diagnose and treat a number of conditions in the liver, bile ducts, gall bladder, pancreas and papilla of Vater. These include:

  Blockage of the bile duct by gallstones, cancer, scars, tumors or compression from adjacent organs.

  Jaundice due to an obstructed bile duct. This can also cause light stools and dark urine.

  Persistent upper abdominal pain

  Unexplained weight loss and loss of appetite

  Diagnosing a Dysfunctioning Sphincter of Oddi within the Papilla of Vater

ERCP can also be used to confirm pancreatic cancer and cancer of the bile duct. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the doctors can customize treatment according to the patient s needs.

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography - Procedure and Results

When you experience a pain on the side and back just below the ribs that at times radiates to the lower abdomen and is fluctuating in intensity, it is quite unlikely for you to think that the reason could be a kidney stone. One of the early symptoms of kidney stone, when you experience such pain, you must seek medical advice. However, there is no need to panic as it is completely curable. Read on to understand more about this condition.

What is urinary bladder stone?
Vesical calculus, which is more commonly referred to as bladder stones, are formed due to a buildup of minerals. It may occur when the bladder is not entirely emptied after urinating. In the course of time, the residual urine becomes concentrated, and the minerals start forming crystals. When the stones are in a miniature state, they can easily pass out, but at times, when they are quite big, they may get stuck in the walls of the urinary tract and cause severe pain and discomfort.

What are the causes of urinary bladder stones?
Bladder stones start growing when the urine is left in the bladder for a long span of time. This may happen due to some underlying medical condition which can prevent the bladder from completely emptying. Conditions which are responsible for causing stones in the urinary tract are as follows

Enlargement of the prostate: When the prostate is enlarged, it may exert pressure on the urethra and disrupt the flow. It leads to retention of urine and creates an ideal environment for the formation of stones.
Diverticula and enlargement of bladder: Sometimes, pouches form within the bladder, and when they become too large, they can retain urine and prevent the bladder from being emptied completely.
Usage of medical devices: Bladder stones may form when an individual uses catheters or other medical devices.
Inflammation of the bladder: Radiation therapy or infection in the urinary tract that causes inflammation or enlargement of the bladder can lead to the formation of stones. Also, if a person has kidney stones, they can come down to the ureters, and in case they become too large to pass, they would stay in the bladder and cause substantial obstruction. Kidney stones are more common than stones in the urinary bladder.
How are kidney stones treated?
Specific lifestyle changes such as drinking enough liquids, taking calcium supplements, limiting the amount of caffeine and alcohol and reducing body weight are some of the simplest yet effective means of treating urinary stones at earlier stages.

Use of specific medicines can also reduce the calcium and uric acid stones by controlling the amount of alkali or acid in the urine. These medications reduce the amount of calcium released by the kidneys so that they can be retained in the bone. If these treatment options do not work, you must consider undergoing surgical intervention.

Stones In Urinary Tract - 4 Particular Reasons Behind It!

The gall bladder, which sits just below the rib cage to the right of the stomach, is very tender to touch. It is a little sac or storage compartment for bile, which is produced by the liver. The gallbladder emits bile into the small intestines via a duct referred to as the cystic duct. The entire process is meant to break down foods (namely fatty foods). 
Gallbladder attack symptoms may include one or more of the following:
1.Pain in the back right shoulder blade:
Sometimes, pain radiates through to the back shoulder blade on the right side or in the middle between the shoulder blades. This is pain from the gallbladder affecting the back of the shoulder. This back shoulder blade chest pain is one of the most common yet unknown symptoms of a gallbladder disorder. This can come and go or be constant. It may be sharp, excruciating or dull. It may also occur especially at night. A gallbladder attack will typically last for one to four hours.
2. Pain in the stomach: 
The most common symptom of a gallbladder problem is pain. This pain usually occurs in the mid to upper-right section of your abdomen. It can be mild and intermittent, or it can be quite severe and frequent. In some cases, the pain will begin to radiate to other areas of the body, including the back and chest.
3. Nausea or Vomiting: 
Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms among all types of gallbladder problems. But only a chronic gallbladder disease may cause digestive problems, such as acid reflux, gas, nausea, and vomiting.
4. Diarrhea:
Having more than four bowel movements a day for at least three months may be a sign of chronic gallbladder disease.
5. Fever or Chills:
An unexplained fever may signal that you have a bile duct infection. If you have an infection, you need treatment before it worsens and becomes dangerous. The infection can become life-threatening if it's allowed to spread to other parts of the body.
6. Unusual Stools or Urine: 
Lighter-colored stools and dark urine are possible signs of a common bile duct block.

Recognizing The Symptoms Of A Gall Bladder Attack

Surgery using a laparoscope is the most common way to remove the gallbladder. A laparoscope is a thin, lighted tube that lets the doctor see inside our belly. It is a minimally invasive surgery in which small incisions and specialized tools are used to remove a diseased or infected gallbladder.

The gallbladder is a small organ that sits right under the liver and is credited with bile storage, which can help the body in breaking down various kinds of fats that enter it. So, what all do you need to know about this operation? read this list.

Reasons for gallbladder operation
The gallbladder is not a very efficient organ. It can lead to blockages and choking as the bile it stores can become very thick and difficult to handle. Also, this bile can harbour deposits that are hard ball like substances, usually known as gallbladder stones. The size of these stones can vary from the size of a grain to the size of a golf ball. 

Further, these gallbladder stones can cause infections, which can lead to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, bloating and more. Another reason can also be the gallbladder disease known as chloelithiasis, which can cause abdominal pain. Inflammation in the pancreas, also known as pancreatitis, can lead to gallbladder open removal surgery.

Risk
While the gallbladder removal surgery is usually considered a safe one, with little or no complications, there are risks attached to this surgery too. These include sudden and excessive bleeding and the creation of blood clots, allergic reactions to the drugs used as well as anaesthesia, blood vessel damage, accelerated heart rate which leads to an increased risk of contracting a heart attack or heart disease, infections, inflammation or swelling in the pancreas, and injuries caused to the bile duct during surgery.

You might also need this type of surgery if you have the following:
1. Biliary dyskinesia, which occurs when the gallbladder doesn't fill or empty correctly due to a defect
2. Choledocholithiasis, which occurs when gallstones move to the bile duct and potentially cause a blockage that prevents the gallbladder from draining
3. Cholecystitis, which is an inflammation of the gallbladder
4. Pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas

Laparoscopic surgery is preferred over open cholecystectomy surgery because the smaller incisions that are made reduce your risk of infection, bleeding, and recovery time.

Preparation
To prepare for your gallbladder removal surgery, the doctor may ask you to have a prescription fluid so that your bowels are flushed clean. You may also be asked to fast for at least six hours before the surgery so that there is no hindrance to the same. Also, the use of an antibacterial soap to bathe is usually prescribed so that the risk of contracting infections decreases.

While this surgery can be a simple one, you will have to take due care after the surgery to ensure that the recovery is fast and virtually pain free.

All About Gallbladder Surgery

Gallstone Pancreatitis is the result of a blockage in the pancreatic duct by a gallstone. Due to the blockage in the pancreatic duct, inflammation occurs and causes the problem to begin.

This can be a life-threatening situation and should be immediately checked. If the stones from the gallbladder travel down the common bile duct and get stuck at the sphincter, it can stop the outflow of all materials from the pancreas as well as the liver and become quite severe. There are a lot of risks involved when a person suffers from this issue. Rapid weight loss, high cholesterol levels, diabetes are a few of the risks of the disease.

Symptoms of Gallstone Pancreatitis
There are a number of symptoms like pangs of pain in the upper left abdomen and the back, swollen and tender abdomen, vomiting and nausea, increase in the heart rate, fever and more can be seen in a patient suffering from gallstone pancreatitis. Any individual who notices any of the following symptoms should get themselves checked immediately. Any pain in the upper abdominal area can be aggravated by eating foods which are high in fat as well.

Diagnosis of Gallstone Pancreatitis
In order to be completely sure about having gallstone pancreatitis, a number of tests are performed. Blood tests are followed by abdominal CAT scan to check for the inflammation of the pancreas. This also shows how severe the inflammation of the pancreas is. Sometimes abdominal ultrasound is also suggested as CAT scans are sometimes not as sensitive in identifying the problem. Once the problem has been detected, immediate treatment is recommended by doctors.

The Treatment of Gallstone Pancreatitis
The best treatment for pancreatitis is done in the initial stage of the problem. By avoiding taking in liquids and solid food up until the inflammation subsides is one of the best treatments. If the inflammation is relatively modest, the swelling can reduce in a few days by intravenous delivery of fluids for a couple of days.

1. If a CAT scan or MRI of abdomen suggest that a stone in present in the Common bile Duct (CBD), the an Endoscopic treatment referred as ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography) is done. 

2. After the acute pancreatitis episode settles down, patient must undergo a Gall Bladder removal surgery. This is done as gall bladder is the factory of gall stones and patient is at-risk to another episode of Acute Pancreatitis.

In case of severe inflammation, fever and persisting pain, intravenous delivery of food should continue if oral intake of food does not start within 5 to 7 days. Anti-nausea medications are used to treat severe nausea and vomiting along with nasogastric tube. In certain cases, it is important to remove the gallstones from the bladder immediately while in some cases doctors suggest waiting for a period of 24-48 hours before starting the removal procedure. Sometimes a surgical removal of the gallstones is also required but only if the stones do not pass out of the system on their own.

All You Need to Know About Gallstone Pancreatitis

The gallbladder is a small organ in the abdomen that rarely gets any attention. When it does draw attention to itself, it is usually not for the right reasons. People think of their gallbladder only when they start feeling abdominal pain associated with gallstones. Gallstones aren t stones like we see in river beds but crystallized deposits of digestive fluids. They can be as small a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. Stones can occur singularly or many stones may develop simultaneously. It can cause pain in the center or upper right part of the abdomen. Though the pain may be bad, it is not a reason to worry as homeopathy has a number of ways to treat this condition.

Homeopathy is a holistic form of healing that addresses the patient as a whole instead of merely looking at the symptoms exhibited. In this way, it attacks the root cause of the problem. Homeopathic remedies may be given to infants, children and adults of all ages. One of the many benefits of this form of medication is that it has negligible side effects. However, self-medication is not advisable. This is because a remedy that suits one person may not be as effective for another. When prescribing homeopathic remedies, a doctor will look into the patient s medical history, family history, overall physical and mental health, as well as the symptoms, were seen. Thus, homeopathy does not follow a one size fits all approach. For example, an obese person will require a specific type of homeopathic medicine. At the same time, a patient complaining of acidity and a bloated abdomen will require a completely different remedy.

There are many different types of homeopathic remedies. These can be prescribed in the form of sugar-coated pills or liquids. In some cases, powders may also be prescribed. Homeopathic medicines may be prescribed singularly or in a combination of two to three medicines. The main aim of these homeopathic remedies is to reduce the size of the gallstone so that it can pass through the digestive system and be expelled from the body. It also helps relieve pain and reduce flatulence associated with gallstones.

When it comes to homeopathic remedies, one must not expect an immediate solution. It is important to be patient and to take your medication regularly for it to be effective. It is also important not to eat or drink anything half an hour before or after taking the medicines. 

Treating Gallstones With Homeopathic Approach!

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