World · India Bureau
Doctors extract 70 stones from patient's bile duct 29 years after surgery
Surgeons at a leading medical college in Uttar Pradesh successfully removed 70 gallstones from a patient's bile duct, nearly three decades after the patient's gallbladder was initially removed. The procedure brought relief to the patient who had endured chronic pain despite multiple earlier interventions.
LSN India ·
Doctors at GSVM Medical College in Kanpur performed a complex endoscopic procedure to extract 70 stones from a patient's common bile duct, providing relief after years of recurrent pain. The patient had undergone gallbladder removal surgery in 1997, but continued to experience persistent abdominal discomfort in the years that followed.
The patient sought treatment again in 2019 and underwent four endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures in 2026, yet the symptoms persisted. Dr. Sanjay Kala and his clinical team decided to conduct a detailed choledochoscopic examination, a minimally invasive technique that allows direct visualization of the bile duct.
The investigation revealed an unusually large accumulation of stones lodged in the bile duct. The team successfully removed all 70 stones through the endoscopic approach, eliminating the source of the patient's chronic pain. Medical experts note that such cases of recurrent stone formation in the bile duct following gallbladder removal, though uncommon, require specialized endoscopic intervention rather than traditional surgical approaches.
Following the procedure, the patient experienced significant relief from pain. The successful outcome demonstrates the effectiveness of advanced endoscopic techniques in managing complex biliary complications that may develop years after initial gallbladder surgery.