Gallstones Center - Petaluma, CA
Petaluma Gastroenterologist Doctors for GallstonesType of Physician: Gastroenterologist What is a Gastroenterologist? A subspecialty certification by the Board of Internal Medicine; practitioners focus on the stomach, intestines, colon, liver, and gallbladder (digestive organs). The gastroenterologist treats conditions such as abdominal pain, ulcers, diarrhea, cancer, and jaundice and they consult with surgeons when abdominal operations are indicated. Specialty: Gastroenterology Common Name: GI Doctor Gastroenterologist Doctors in Petaluma * Laurence J Mazzotta MD  Barbara L Nylund MD  Marin Gastroenterology  Marin Gastroenterology  Marin Gastroenterology  Marin Gastroenterology  Marin Gastroenterology  Marin Gastroenterology  GI Associates  Santa Rosa Gastroenterology Medical Associates Inc  GI Associates  Santa Rosa Gastroenterology Medical Associates Inc  GI Associates  Santa Rosa Gastroenterology Medical Associates Inc  Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa  Freeto & Talley MDs  Freeto & Talley MDs  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Center for Digestive Disorders  Center for Digestive Disorders  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Center for Digestive Disorders  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  Vallejo Medical Center  VA Hospital  UCSF VA Medical Center  John C Fletcher MD & William Parmer MD Inc  US & International Medicine Wing K King MD  DR, MARTIN S. LIBERMAN  Doctors Office  Stephen C Pardys MD  Doctors Office  Doctors Office  Patrick Y Wong MD  Pacific Heights Medical Group  Pacific Internal Medicine Associates  Interventional Endoscopy Services  California Pacific Medical Center Gastroenterology  Pacific Internal Medicine Associates  California Pacific Medical Center Gastroenterology  Daniel Conlin MD  Pacific Internal Medicine Associates  California Pacific Medical Center Gastroenterology  Pacific Internal Medicine Associates  PACIFIC INTERNAL MEDICINE ASSOCIATES  Pacific Internal Medicine Associates  California Pacific Medical Center Gastroenterology  Interventional Endoscopy Services  California Pacific Medical Center Gastroenterology  North East Medical Service  California Pacific Medical Center Department of Gastroenterology  Womens Health Care Clinic  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF The Comprehensive Cancer Center  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  Frank J Farrell MD  Malin Aubry Gores Wang Haddad & Sankaran  Frank S Yang MD  San Francisco Digestive Disease Inc  San Francisco Digestive Disease Inc  San Francisco Digestive Disease Inc  Dennis L Hamby MD  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Gastroenterology  Dean L Rider MD  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  H David Watts MD  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  UCSF Medical Center Gastroenterology  Robert J Elsen MD  Sunset Health Services  Family Doctor Medical Group  NorthBay Healthcare  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Northern California Gastroenterology Consultants  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Northern California Gastroenterology Consultants  Gastroenterology Associates of the East Bay  Northern California Gastroenterology Consultants  Northern California Gastroenterology Consultants Petaluma, CaliforniaUpcoming Local Events2012-06-16
2012-06-16
2012-07-01
2012-07-28
2012-07-28
2012-08-05
2012-08-12
2012-08-26
2012-10-21
2012-10-27
GallstonesWhat are gallstones?Gallstones (often misspelled gall stones, or gall stone) are stones that form in the gall (bile). (The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ just below the liver and stores the bile secreted by the liver.)
From the common bile duct, there are two different directions that bile can flow.
Once in the gallbladder, bile is concentrated by the removal (absorption) of water. During a meal, the muscle that makes up the wall of the gallbladder contracts and squeezes the concentrated bile in the gallbladder back through the cystic duct into the common duct and then into the intestine. (Concentrated bile is much more effective for digestion than the un-concentrated bile that goes from the liver straight into the intestine.) The timing of gallbladder contraction-during a meal-allows the concentrated bile from the gallbladder to mix with food. Gallstones usually form in the gallbladder; however, they also may form anywhere there is bile; in the intrahepatic, hepatic, common bile, and cystic ducts. Gallst... Recommended Reading Related to GallstonesMRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan) » What is an MRI scan?An MRI (or magnetic resonance imaging) scan is a radiology technique that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to produce images of body structures. The MRI scanner is a tube surrounded by a giant circular magnet. The patient is placed on a moveable bed that is inserted into the magnet. The magnet creates a strong magnetic field that aligns the protons of hydrogen atoms, which are then exposed to a beam of radio waves. This spins the various protons of the body, and they produce a faint signal that is detected by the receiver portion of the MRI scanner. The receiver information is processed by a computer, and an image is produced. The image and resolution produced by MRI is quite detailed and can detect tiny changes of structures within the body. For some procedures, contrast agents, such as gadolinium, are used to increase the accuracy of the images.
When are MRI scans used?An MRI scan can... Other Related Gallstones ArticlesEmergency Contact for Petaluma
Nearby Petaluma Hospitals *Petaluma Valley Hospital Novato Community Hospital Sonoma Valley Hospital Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center Kentfield Rehabilitation & Specialty Hospital Marin General Hospital Napa State Hospital Queen of the Valley Medical Center Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Main Campus Palm Drive Hospital Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center St Helena Hospital Center for Behavioral Health Sutter Solano Medical Center Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa Chanate Campus Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center Doctor's Medical Center San Pablo St Helena Hospital Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Telecare Solano Psychiatric Health Facility Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Herrick Campus San Francisco VA Medical Center California Pacific Medical Center California Campus California Pacific Medical Center East Campus California Pacific Medical Center Pacific Campus Chinese Hospital UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion VA Northern CA Healthcare System at Martinez Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Campus Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center Saint Francis Memorial Hospital NorthBay Medical Center St Mary's Medical Center Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland California Pacific Medical Center Davies Campus UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Summit Campus Kaiser Permanente Medical Center at Oakland Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center San Francisco General Hospital St Luke's Hospital John Muir Behavioral Health Center Alameda County Medical Center Highland Campus John Muir Medical Center Concord Campus Healdsburg District Hospital Alameda Hospital Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
Suggested Reading on Gallstones by Our Doctors
-
Related Diseases & Conditions
26 articles-
Abdominal Pain
- Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
-
Liver Disease
- Liver disease can be cause by a variety of things including infection (hepatitis), diseases such as gallstones, high cholesterol or triglycerides, blood flow obstruction to the liver, and toxins (medications and chemicals). Symptoms of liver disease depends upon the cause; however, common symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, upper right abdominal pain, and jaundice. Treatment depends upon the cause of the liver disease.
-
Crohn's Disease
- Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease, primarily involving the small and large intestine, but which can affect other parts of the digestive system as well. Abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and weight loss are common symptoms.
-
Cirrhosis (Liver)
- Cirrhosis of the liver refers to a disease in which normal liver cells are replaced by scar tissue caused by alcohol and viral hepatitis B and C. This disease leads to abnormalities in the liver's ability to handle toxins and blood flow, causing internal bleeding, kidney failure, mental confusion, coma, body fluid accumulation, and frequent infections. Symptoms include yellowing of the skin, itching, and fatigue.
-
Alcoholism
- Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
-
Pancreatitis
- Pancreatitis is a rare disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed, occurring when digestive enzymes are activated and begin attacking the pancreas causing damage to the gland. There are two types of pancreatitis, acute and chronic. Most commonly caused by alcohol or gallstones, it can lead to bleeding in the gland, serious tissue damage, infection, and cysts. Enzymes and toxins may then enter the bloodstream and seriously injure organs, such as the heart, lungs, and kidney.
-
Stool Color & Texture Changes (Black, Red, Maroon, Green, Yellow, Gray, Tarry, Sticky)
- Stool color is generally brown. When stool color changes, often, an individual becomes concerned. The presence of the bilirubin in bile is generally responsible for stool color. Bilirubin concentration can vary bile color from light yellow to almost black in color. Changes in bilirubin can cause stool to turn green, gray, or clay-like in color. Intestinal bleeding may turn stool black, tarry, red, maroon, or smelly stool. Medication and food may also affect stool color.
-
Nausea and Vomiting
- Nausea is an uneasiness of the stomach that often precedes vomiting. Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but they are symptoms of many conditions. The causes of vomiting differ according to age, and treatment depends upon the cause of nausea and vomiting.
-
Jaundice
- Jaundice is a yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the eyes (sclerae) with bilirubin, the pigment found in bile. Jaundice can be an indicator of liver or gallbladder disease, or it may result from the rupture of red blood cells (hemolysis).
-
Indigestion (Dyspepsia, Upset Stomach)
- Dyspepsia (indigestion) is a functional disease in which the gastrointestinal organs, primarily the stomach and first part of the small intestine, function abnormally. It is a chronic disease in which the symptoms fluctuate infrequency and intensity. Symptoms of dyspepsia include upper abdominal pain, belching, nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, early satiety, and abdominal distention (swelling). These symptoms are most often provoked by eating.
-
Cystic Fibrosis
- Cystic fibrosis is a disease of the mucus and sweat glands. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease. The outcome of the disease leaves the body malnourished, bulky and fouls smelling stools, vitamin insufficiency, gas, painful or swollen abdomen, infertility, susceptible to heat emergencies, and respiratory failure. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, treatment of symptoms is used to manage the disease.
-
Obesity
- Obesity is the state of being well above one's normal weight. A person has traditionally been considered to be obese if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight. That ideal weight must take into account the person's height, age, sex, and build.
-
Liver
- The liver is the largest solid organ in the body, and is actually an gland. The liver has a wide variety of critical functions such as manufacturing proteins and metabolizing fats and carbohydrates. The liver also eliminates harmful biochemical waste products from the body (alcohol, drugs, toxins). The liver secretes bile that aids in digestion. Examples of diseases of the liver include cirrhosis, hepatitis, cancer, and fatty liver. Symptoms of liver disease include bleeding, easy bruising, edema, fatigue, and jaundice.
-
Pleurisy (Pleuritis)
- Pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around the lungs, is associated with sharp chest pain upon breathing in. Cough, chest tenderness, and shortness of breath are other symptoms associated with pleurisy. Pleurisy pain can be managed with pain medication and by external splinting of the chest wall.
-
Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle Cell Anemia)
- Sickle cell anemia (sickle cell disease), a blood disease which shortens life expectancy, is cause by an inherited abnormal hemoglobin. Symptoms may include bacterial infections, painful swelling of the hands and feet, fever, leg ulcers, fatigue, anemia, eye damage, and lung and heart injury. Treatment for sickle cell anemia aims to manage and prevent the worst manifestations of the disease and focuses on therapies that block red blood cells from stacking together, which can lead to tissue and organ damage and pain.
-
Pancreatic Cysts
- Pancreatic cysts are collections of fluid within the pancreas. Some are benign, malignant, or pseudocysts. There are two major types of pancreatic cysts, inflammatory cysts and non-inflammatory cysts. Non-inflammatory cysts include: serous cyst adenomas, mucinous cyst adenomas, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. Symptoms of pancreatic cysts include abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, chills, and sepsis. Treatment depends on the type of cyst, and patient health.
-
Beta Thalassemia
- Beta Thalassemia is the most familiar type of thalassemia. Thalassemia is not just one disease but rather a complex series of genetic (inherited) disorders all of which involve underproduction of hemoglobin.
-
Gallbladder Cancer
- Gallbladder cancer is a rare form of cancer with symptoms that include jaundice, abdominal pain, fever, nausea and vomiting, abdominal lumps, and bloating. Risk factors include being female and Native American. Treatment of gallbladder cancer depends upon the stage of the cancer, the type of gallbladder cancer, and whether the cancer can be removed by surgery.
-
Antiemetics
- Nausea and vomiting are symptoms that may be caused by many conditions. Antiemetics are drugs that treat nausea and vomiting. Though some antiemetics for motion sickness and mild nausea are available over the counter (OTC), most require a medical evaluation and prescription.
-
Alpha Thalassemia
- Alpha thalassemia is a disorder in which the alpha globin protein is underproduced. There are two pairs of genes that carry the code for the alpha chains of hemoglobin. When one gene is impaired, that person is in a carrier state and suffers no medical problems. When four genes are impaired, the production of fetal and adult hemoglobin is prevented, resulting in hydrops fetalis and leading to death before birth.
-
Asbestos
- Asbestos exposure lung disease is divided into three main types, asbestosis (lung scarring caused by asbestos fibers), disease of the lining of the lung (pleural plaques, scarring, or fluid accumulation), and lung cancer. Mesothelioma is cancer of the lining of the lung caused by asbestos exposure. Cancers of the larynx, throat, kidney, esophagus, and gallbladder have been linked to asbestos exposure. Treatment is dependant upon the type of condition related to asbestos exposure.
-
The Digestive System
- Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
-
Duodenal Diverticulum
- Duodenal diverticula (extramural or intramural), or duodenal diverticulum, is a pouch that is attached to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). The cause of extramural diverticula is not clear, however, it may be congenital. Complications caused by duodenal diverticulum include rupture, gallstones, or pancreatitis. Extramural duodenal diverticula has no symptoms. Treatment is generally surgery.
-
Pregnancy Planning
- Pregnancy planning is important to help prevent exposure of the mother and fetus to potentially harmful medications and substances during the early days, and throughout the pregnancy. Nutritional planning, prevention of birth defects, conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disease need careful monitoring. Gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and pregnancy induced hypertension are conditions that may arise during pregnancy. Immunizations, inherited disorders, exercise, air travel, intercourse, and birth control are important factors to consider when planning a pregnancy.
-
Childhood Obesity
- Fast food consumption and lack of exercise are just a couple of causes of childhood obesity. Health effects of childhood obesity include type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, gallstones, fatty liver disease, GERD, depression, and eating disorders.
-
Choledochal Cysts
- Choledochal cysts are cysts of the bile ducts. There are several different types of choledochal cysts. These cysts are congenital, however, their cause is not known. Symptoms of choledochal cysts in infants include an enlarged liver and jaundice. In older people, the cysts cause abdominal pain, jaundice, cholangitis, gallstones, and pancreatitis. Treatment for choledochal cysts is surgery.
-
Abdominal Pain
-
Medications
5 articles -
Procedures & Tests
12 articles -
Pictures, Images & Quizzes
2 articles -
Doctor's & Expert's Views
11 articles -
Health News
4 articles -
Health Features
2 articles
