Confusing info on Pathology Report? What to do? - Digestive Disorders Message Board

AlanPi · 10-15-2008, 05:18 PM

Just got my Pathology Report, but with conflicting info on my gallbladder:

Diagnosis: Chronic Cholecystitis with Cholelithiasis

MY Translation: gallbladder is diagnosed to be bad with stones.

but under a different section:

GROSS: Contents consist of green and no calculi are grossly identified.

MY Translation: Green bile found but not stones are found.

Definitions of cholelithiasis: The medical term for gallstones
Definitions of calculi: stones or solid lumps such as gallstones

So which is which???

Do I have stones or do I not have stones???

To make things worse my appointment with the surgeon is not until 3 weeks after the surgery. By then if we found a mistake on the pathology report won't it be too late? Does anyone know what is going on and what should I do? Please advise

Chantal231 · 10-15-2008, 10:44 PM

Hi,

If I were you I'd call my Dr and speak to his/her nurse and ask for a clarification.

What were tou told before your surgery? Did the Dr say you had stones or just a low functioning gb.

How are you doing? Try not to worry about whether or not you had stones. I'm sure you'll be OK.

Take care,
Chantal

AlanPi · 10-16-2008, 11:13 AM

Thanks, I called my Surgeon and his staff doesn't seem to be caring. That was yesterday hopefully he or his staff would return my call.

Before the surgery I was only told the gb should be removed since it is not functioning. They can't find any stones. The HIDA result was only 7%.

I am doing fine now after the surgery, and back to work. It doesn't matter now whether I had stones or not, but it's the quality of medical care in Las Vegas that concerns me. Did the person performing the pathology checked for everything he or she is supposed to check? Are they supposed to leave you guessing so they can't do no wrong?

As a patient, it is best to double-check your Doctor's work. Many mal-practices and sufferings could have been easily avoided. For example, I was at the ER getting checked-up Friday night. The ER Dr. insisted many times to perform a CT scan when an ultrasound, or even better a HIDA scan would be more appropriate to check for bile leak. I refused the CT scan due to it's radiation risks and little benefits for my case. Later my Gastro Dr. confirmed my decision, since an Ultrasound should be the first test performed and would be the best appropriate action at the time...

Chantal231 · 10-16-2008, 05:17 PM

Hi again Alan,

Maybe you can help me out!

My Dr thinks I may have a low functioning gb. I had an ultrasound (abdominal) that showed no stones however I continue to have occasional nausea, burping, occasional diarrhea or soft stool and slight discomfort in the area of my gb. I have not yet had a HIDA scan.

What symptoms did you have and how did the HIDA scan go? I hear it makes some people vomit afterwards because of the contrast that is used.

Are you feeling better now and do you feel it was worth the pain to have the surgery? Some people say they feel no better after the surgery and some even feel worse.

Any info or advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Chantal

sam78 · 10-16-2008, 05:31 PM

Alan, your diagnosis would be chronic inflammation with stones. In the gross section, they typically send a portion or a section of the gallbladder down to be looked at. They dont always send the whole gallbladder down to be looked at, so it is possilbe that the section they sent down didnt have any stones. Also you could have passed the stones and not had any in your gallbladder so just because the pathology didnt show stones doesnt mean that you have never had stones.