A surgeon on Tuesday called on people to avoid eating too much fatty food, after he removed nearly 5,000 gallstones from a patient.
Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital Division of General Surgery director Yu Cheng-chan (余政展) said he was astonished that there were so many, adding that removing 10 or 20 gallstones at one time was a considerable amount.
Gallstones are dangerous, as it only takes one falling into the bile duct to cause conditions such as pancreatitis and peritonitis, he said.
Photo: Chang Hsuan–che, Taipei Times
Yu’s patient said his eating habits developed in childhood, as his mother, fearing that he would not eat enough, bought fried food for him to eat with dinner every evening.
As he got older, he would eat lots of meat and fried food, and coworkers often gave him their leftovers when ordering buckets of fried snacks, he said.
Early last year, he began experiencing occasional bloating and back pain that he thought was caused by poor sleep, he said.
Photo: Chang Hsuan–che, Taipei Times
He changed his pillow numerous times, but his symptoms worsened, he said, adding that two weeks of prescription medication also had no effect.
After experiencing diarrhea for nearly three months, an ultrasound showed that his gallbladder was twice its expected size and packed with stones, he said.
He was also shocked when seeing a jar full of his gallstones after surgery, he said, adding that in retrospect he also thinks that he ate too much greasy food.
Many people mistake upper abdomen pain for stomach pain, but it could have its source in the liver, gallbladder or pancreas, Yu said.
Gallstones are the most common ailment, but the symptoms are often mistaken for a lingering stomachache, he added.
The 43-year-old man’s dietary habits and weight created a “perfect storm” for gallstones, which caused his gallbladder to expand to about 10cm across, Yu said.
“No wonder he was uncomfortable,” he added.
The gallbladder stores excess bile produced by the liver, a function that can be replaced by the bile duct if the organ is removed, he said.
Few people experience diarrhea after eating greasy food, Yu said, urging closer attention on diet.
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