treatment of gallstones with chinese herbs and acupuncture

This is an excert of a practical gallstone removal proceedure carried out in Chinese hospitals. (This is the link:
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/gallstones.htm
)

8:30 Lithogogue decoction, 200 ml orally, is given. This stimulates bile secretion.

9:30 Morphine, 5 mg, is injected. This restricts Oddi's sphincter, builds up bile pressure, and relieves pain.

10:10 Amyl nitrite, 1 ampoule, is inhaled. This relaxes Oddi's sphincter to allow bile to flow out.

10:15 33% magnesium sulfate, 40 ml, is given orally. This induces rapid bile flow and duodenal emptying.

10:20 0.5% dilute HCl, 30 ml, is given orally. This further stimulates flow of bile.

10:25 Rich meal (2-3 fried eggs). This stimulates further dispensing of bile.

10:30 electroacupuncture for 30 minutes. This causes the gallbladder to contract and alleviates symptoms of stone passage.

Using such vigorous stone-expelling methods, it was reported that stones somewhat over 1 cm in diameter could be excreted. The largest stones expelled are long but not too wide, with a maximum length of about 3 cm, but a width of no more than about 1 cm. When expelling large stones, it is common for the patients to experience what is called a "stone expulsion reaction," with biliary colic, and temporary fever and jaundice (the result of stones becoming temporarily caught in the duct). Rates of such reactions are as high as 90%. Silt-like stones, which are easy to pass because of their small size, are reportedly not excreted well because they tend to adhere to the wall of the gallbladder.

In the West, one of the greatest fears associated with applying a stone-expelling therapy is the problem of billiary colic as the stone becomes stuck in the bile duct, especially at the sphincter. The pain can be extreme and may require an emergency visit to the hospital, with the usual recommendation at the hospital of immediate surgery to remove the gallbladder. By contrast, in China, the herbal procedure may be carried out at the hospital and measures are taken to alleviate the pain while continuing with the procedure. Based on the Chinese reports of the stone-expelling reactions, it appears that the rapid method of stone removal will not be acceptable in other countries.

According to the information from this review of the medical literature through 1985, the largest stones that appear capable of being passed are on the order of one centimeter in diameter. This size is probably a reasonable upper limit for anyone considering a non-surgical procedure and may represent the maximum dilation of the duct. The gentler stone-expelling methods to be used by Western practitioners who are not working in a hospital setting may not be able to expel stones of quite this size, since the strong build up of bile pressure and the sudden relaxation of the sphincter are unlikely to be accomplished. Therefore, somewhat smaller than 1 cm stones may be the largest one can expel and patients seeking to expel larger stones should be cautioned about the lower chance of success
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