Obesity Increases the Chances of Gall Bladder Diseases
Obesity is rightly blamed for creating countless troubles in the way of healthy living. One more addition to the list is gall bladder disease. Research has shown that people who are obese suffer gall bladder disease more often than do people with normal weight. According to an estimate cholithiasis (stones formation in the gall bladder) is present in 87-97% people who are morbidly obese. One more teasing fact about obesity is that people having BMI 45Kg/m2 or more have five to seven fold increased risk of developing gall stones than people who are normal weight.
Cholithiasis is a condition in which stones are formed inside the gall bladder. Stones present in the gall bladder can lead to serious complications. When any one of these stone slips from the sac and stuck in the neck of gall bladder or in biliary duct system, creates a big trouble. Stones impacted in the neck of gall bladder or in one of the biliary ducts causes severe pain in the upper abdomen along with vomiting; this condition is called cholecystitis. This is really unbearable condition which can lead to serious consequences.
One more grave complication of cholilithiasis is cancer of gall bladder. Research states that if gall stones remain in the gall bladder for long time, they produce chronic irritation that results in gall bladder cancer. Cholithiasis is also the leading cause of pancreatitis.
HOW OBESITY CAUSES STONE FORMATION IN GALL BLADDER?
Gall bladder serves the function of a reservoir to store bile (a juice or secretion of liver which is helpful in digestion of fats in the intestine). Bile is a mixture of cholesterol and bile acids which are present in such a proportion that they don’t precipitate in the gall bladder. What happens in obesity, liver excretes more cholesterol in the bile and extra cholesterol precipitates and forms stones in the gall bladder. The other factor which contributes to stone formation in obesity is incomplete contraction and emptying of gall bladder.
PRACTICAL ISSUES IN THE TREATMENT OF GALL-STONES IN OBESE PEOPLE
Obesity not only increases the risk of gall-stones but also makes its treatment difficult. The preferred treatment of gall-stones and cholecytitis is surgical removal of gall bladder through laproscopic surgery. Increased amount of fat around the stomach and in the abdomen creates a lot of trouble in performing laproscopic surgery. Chances of complications in laproscopic cholecystectomy are higher in obese people than non-obese due to obscure vision resulting from increased fats. Common complications include ligation of bile duct due to mistake, bleeding from cystic artery and need to convert laproscopic surgery to open surgery. These complications can fatal in many patients.
LOSING WEIGHT CAN BRING MIRACULOUS RESULTS
Losing weight reduces chances of gall stones by reducing cholesterol formation and secretion in the bile that contributes to stone formation. The important thing is that we should control obesity in time before this disease starts because once gall stones are formed, they rarely dissolve. Remember gall stones are source of gall bladder cancer that bears high mortality.
Dieting and exercise are important measures to lose weight but when obesity is severe, bariatric surgery is the only effective way to lose weight quickly in matter of a few weeks. Facility providing bariatric surgery should be carefully selected because this needs expertise and special equipment which is only present at dedicated bariatric surgery hospitals. So while making a decision about weight loss or bariatric surgery also decide it to be done at a safe and state of the art bariatric surgery hospital to lose weight not life.
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