
Dr. Lee Ser Yee, Senior Consultant Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon at Surgical Associates based in Mount Elizabeth Hospital explains what gallstones are, who is at risk of gallbladder disease and how to prevent it.
The gallbladder is a small organ in your upper right abdomen which lies beneath the liver and is connected to the bile duct. The gallbladder stores a yellowish liquid produced by the liver called bile that helps your body digest oily and fatty food. Before a meal, the gallbladder may be filled with bile and is about the size of a small pear. During and after meals, the gallbladder squeezes the stored bile into the small intestine through a tube called the common bile duct. In another words, the gallbladder functions as a storage organ for bile and is thus not essential for life, as the bile produced by the liver will still flow into the intestines without the gallbladder.
Small pebble-like deposits called gallstones can form in the gallbladder. Normally, bile
acids and proteins prevent the formation of stones, however, when there is an imbalance in
the bile components, gallstones can form.
There are several types of gallstones – pigment stones, cholesterol stones and mixed stones.
While it is not known why such imbalances in the bile components occur, some people are more prone to develop gallstones. Some of the reasons are:
By modifying your lifestyle, you can potentially lower your risk.
To know more about the treatment of gallstones and gallbladder disease, please read - Treatment of Gallstones
MBBS, MMed (Surgery), MSc, FAMS, FRCSEd
Prior to private practice, Dr Lee Ser Yee was a founding member and Senior Consultant at the Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) and Transplant Surgery at Singapore General Hospital (SGH). He served as the Director of the Laparoscopic programme and the Director of the Surgical Skills Training Program and the SingHealth Surgical Skills Centre.
He started his medical training at the National University of Singapore in 1996 and completed his training in General Surgery, HPB surgery and Liver Transplantation at SGH and National Cancer Centre, Singapore.
He also completed dual USA-fellowships in Advanced Laparoscopic HPB surgery and Liver Transplantation under Professor Daniel Cherqui at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center and a Complex Surgical Oncology clinical fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre
#08-07, 3 Mount Elizabeth, Singapore 228510
Tel: 6454 0054
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Fax: 6764 0054
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Email: ask@surgicalassociates.sg
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