There are means for oral dissolution that can partially or completely dissolve radiolucent stones, invisible on the X-ray picture or by ultrasound examination of the stones that show no signs of calcification (acoustic shadow below the visible stones in the gall bladder).
The success of the method on described types of gall stones, according to some statistics, is about 50% of patients with stones. However, these drugs are ineffective in radiological clearly visible stones and bile pigment stones. These medications cannot be used on every patient because of contraindications and possible side effects. Decision on what treatment to use is on the physician in accordance with the appearance and number of stones, gallbladder appearance, general condition and age of the patient. In patients that had the oral dissolution therapy and if it was successful recidivism is possible (re-creation of stones) after stopping the therapy.
There are methods of dissolution of bile stones that are applied only in hospital conditions; again only in stone that show no signs of calcification and are radiological invisible bile stones and a method is called Extracorporeal Shock-Wave Lithotripsy (dissolution of stones using a catheter through the skin from the outside, in the bile lines where a solvent is injected. Extracorporeal Shock-Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is a non- invasive procedure where shockwaves are used to break apart the gall stone in the gall bladder. However, it is seldom used, as gallstones are usually too large and thick to be broken down by ESWL, and because of a risk that a shattered stone could injure nearby organs. Also, recent research suggests ESWL can damage capillaries, leading to diabetes or hypertension.
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