Stones in the liver

Question

Dear expert team,
1999 my gall-bladder has been removed. Otherwise my liver was ok. From 1999 to 2001 I got very high cortisone dosages (up to 60 mg), as a ulcerative colitis was suspected. 2001 I had an operation, in which 25 cm of the large bowel were removed. It was not an ulcerative colitis.
In spite of this I have to go on taking cortisone (inhale), as I have a chronic bronchitis. Here in Spain, my CF is not taken into account, as it is the "healthy varaint". Last year I have again been operated on the liver, as it was full of stones and the bile duct did not let them pass. The bile duct had been removed and replaced by my own tissue. As furthermore a strong fat liver has been diagnosed, I am feared now. Is it possible that my liver gets full of stones and hereby gets destroyed? I do not drink and do not eat fatty food.
Thank you for your patience.

Answer

Hello,
Gall-stones are more frequent in CF patients than in healthy people, fortunately without symptoms in most cases and in most cases they do not cause any complications. This seems to be unfortunately different in your case and has probably something to do with your CF, so that one can not speak of a "healthy variant". The liver itself is hereby not full of stones, but it is always the gall bladder and the bile ducts, in which stones can be found. Stones however, can unfortunately form again and again, so that a regular control makes sense. As you are suffering also from a fat liver, a therapy with ursodeoxycholic acid would be indicated, which you probably already take. Unfortunately, there are otherwise not so many therapeutic options. You need not to have fear, that your liver is going to be full of stones and therefore be destroyed, however you should have regular controls, indeed at a CF-center.
Prof. Dr. J. Bargon

21.04.2010