Recently, she noticed that her skin was more yellow and darker than before. Worried about her health, Ms. H. went to Xuyen A General Hospital (HCMC) for a general health check-up. Through the ultrasound results, the doctors suspected that she had many stones in her bile duct and transferred her to the General Surgery Department for a more in-depth examination.
On March 18, Master - Specialist Doctor 2 Phan Van Son (Xuyen A General Hospital) announced the results of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the liver - bile area, showing a large amount of stones in the common bile duct and many small stones and stone-containing sacs throughout the left hepatic bile duct.
Based on the results of the imaging diagnosis, the doctor determined that the stones had formed for a long time in the common bile duct, leading to bile duct obstruction. At the same time, the left hepatic duct was narrowed, causing the patient's entire left lobe of the liver to become atrophied and form stone sacs.
Faced with this situation, doctors from the General Surgery Department recommended laparoscopic surgery to remove the stones and resect the atrophied left lobe of the liver containing the stones.
The gallstones and liver after being removed by the surgeon
PHOTO: BSCC
“In the case of patient H., if the part of the liver containing the stones is not treated, the risk of recurrence of gallstones after treatment is very high, the patient is susceptible to recurrent liver abscesses, and at the same time, this part of the liver with cirrhosis has a very high risk of intrahepatic bile duct cancer. Therefore, liver resection is the most optimal solution for this case," analyzed Master - Specialist Doctor 2 Tran Van Minh Tuan, Head of the Department of General Surgery.
Patient H. had a history of high blood pressure and diabetes, so doctors from many specialties worked together to examine and evaluate the patient's overall health before surgery. After assessing that her functions were stable, Ms. H. underwent laparoscopic surgery. The surgery lasted nearly 8 hours.
According to Dr. Tuan, the endoscopic image showed that the common bile duct was dilated with a diameter of nearly 20 mm, the left liver was partially atrophied, and the left hepatic bile duct had pus pockets containing many stones that had gathered into clusters. During the surgery, the team endoscopically opened the common bile duct to remove many stones ranging in size from 4-10 mm, while also cutting the left lobe of the liver and placing a drain into the common bile duct.
After the surgery, Mrs. H.'s health recovered quickly. She said that after only one day of surgery, she was able to walk and the itching was gone.
Proactively prevent gallstones
According to Dr. Tuan, bile duct stones are a fairly common disease in Vietnam. Most older people are at higher risk of developing bile duct stones than younger people. In particular, people with a history of gallstones or gallbladder disease are at risk of developing common bile duct stones. In addition, the disease is closely related to factors of bacterial or intestinal parasites. If bile duct stones are not detected early and treated promptly, they can cause many dangerous complications such as cholangitis, pancreatitis, cirrhosis, etc. In addition, bile duct stones in the liver are a risk factor for bile duct cancer in the liver.
Currently, there are many methods to diagnose and detect common bile duct stones early, such as ultrasound, abdominal CT scan, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)... Early detection through regular health check-ups will help the treatment process to be more effective and safer.
"Gallstones and their complications are unpredictable, so patients need to proactively prevent the disease by adjusting their lifestyle and nutrition (increasing fiber and reducing saturated fat), eating hygienically to reduce the possibility of gallstone formation. As soon as symptoms of gallstones appear (right lower quadrant abdominal pain, fever, jaundice, etc.), they need to proactively seek medical examination and early treatment to avoid complications if the disease persists," the doctor recommended.
Source: https://archive.vietnam.vn/ngua-khap-nguoi-hon-2-nam-kham-suc-khoe-phat-hien-xo-gan-soi-duong-mat/
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