Diagnosis procedures first involve some questions asked by a doctor to the patients. These questions are about the diet intake, family history of gallstone, etc. This is followed by a few physical examinations to test the pain in the abdomen. The confirmatory test may include:

• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) – to locate the stuck gallstones in bile duct, a tine camera is incorporated down to gastrointestinal (GI) tract which sends out a complete video of gallbladder.
• Abdominal Ultrasound: This is an imaging test used to analyse if there is gallstones present in the gallbladder.

Procedure

Treatment of gallstones may incorporate two medical procedures: This procedure involves oral medications to dissolve the gallstones. It is believed that cholesterol gallstones can be dissolve with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Medicational treatment takes a lot time to completely remove the gallstones. While it takes years to complete the entire course, discontinuing the treatment procedure can let the gallstones reappear. Surgical treatment involves permanent removal of the gallbladder which can be done through two way:

• Traditional Surgery: One single large incision is made in the abdomen to remove the gallbladder from the body. Removal of the gallbladder (called Cholecystectomy) does not have any adverse consequences as bile flows directly from liver to small intestine through common bile duct.
• Laparoscopic Surgery: In this minimally invasive procedure, patient is given general anesthesia and 3 to 4 small incision are made in the abdomen area. A narrow tube-like instrument which has a camera, is threaded into the abdomen through one of these incisions. Other incisions are used to incorporate surgical instruments. Following this, gallbladder and gallstones are removed and incision are closed.