Review

Gallstones: Watch and wait, or intervene?

Mounir Ibrahim, MD, Shashank Sarvepalli, MD, Gareth Morris-Stiff, MD, PhD, Maged Rizk, MD, Amit Bhatt, MD, R. Matthew Walsh, MD, Umar Hayat, MD, Ari Garber, MD, EdD, John Vargo, MD and Carol A. Burke, MD
Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine April 2018, 85 (4) 323-331; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.85a.17035

ABSTRACT

Gallstones are common in the United States, affecting an estimated 1 in 7 adults. Fortunately, they are asymptomatic in up to 80% of cases, and current guidelines do not recommend cholecystectomy unless they cause symptoms. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the standard treatment for symptomatic gallstones, acute cholecystitis, and gallstone pancreatitis.

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  1. Mounir Ibrahim, MD
  1. Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  1. Shashank Sarvepalli, MD
  1. Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  1. Gareth Morris-Stiff, MD, PhD
  1. HPB Surgery, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute
  2. Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  3. Clinical Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
  1. Maged Rizk, MD
  1. Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  2. Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
  1. Amit Bhatt, MD
  1. Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  2. Clinical Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
  1. R. Matthew Walsh, MD
  1. Rich Family Distinguished Chair of Digestive Diseases, Chairman, Department of General Surgery, Digestive Disease Institute, Chairman, Academic Department of Surgery, Education Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  2. Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
  1. Umar Hayat, MD
  1. Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  1. Ari Garber, MD, EdD
  1. Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  2. Clinical Instructor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
  1. John Vargo, MD
  1. Chairman, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  2. Associate Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
  1. Carol A. Burke, MD⇑
  1. Vice Chair, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic
  1. ADDRESS:
    Carol A. Burke, MD, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Disease Institute, A30, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195; burkec1{at}ccf.org

ABSTRACT

Gallstones are common in the United States, affecting an estimated 1 in 7 adults. Fortunately, they are asymptomatic in up to 80% of cases, and current guidelines do not recommend cholecystectomy unless they cause symptoms. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the standard treatment for symptomatic gallstones, acute cholecystitis, and gallstone pancreatitis.

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