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A galling condition

(Daily Express 21/07/2009)

THE pain of gallstones is so severe that it can be mistaken for symptoms of a heart attack, as sufferer Kate Baily explains. I was woken one night in September last year with an excruciating stabbing pain in my stomach. As I screamed in agony my husband Dave began to call for an ambulance but almost immediately it stopped. Apart from a touch of heartburn I felt fine and went back to sleep. Next morning I realised my urine was the colour of dark tea and the whites of my eyes had turned yellow.

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Alcohol reduces gallstone risk

(BBC 01/06/2009)

Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol protects against the development of gallstones, UK researchers say. Consuming two units a day cuts the chance of developing gallstones by a third, analysis of data from 25,000 men and women showed. Gallstones are very common but symptoms and complications are only seen in three in 10 cases. Delegates at a US conference heard that alcohol reduces cholesterol in the bile from which gallstones form.

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Hospital pioneers 'scarless' surgery

(The Scotsman 02/10/2008)

SURGEONS at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary have become the first in Scotland to perform appendix and gall bladder surgery using a new technique, cutting a 10mm hole in the navel, that leaves patients without a scar. The "scarless" surgery has already been used on eight patients.

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