Britain’s junk food obsession is causing increase in gallbladder ops, new stats reveal
As average patient age decreases, the number of Brits checking themselves into hospitals has soared by 54 per cent in 10 years
BRITAIN’S junk food addiction is being blamed for fuelling a sharp rise in gallbladder ops.
Numbers going to hospital to have the small organ removed have rocketed by 54 per cent in a decade.
And the average age of patients is getting younger.
The NHS carried out almost 75,000 consultations with Brits needing the procedure last year.
It means more than 200 people every day were given the operation at an estimated cost to the NHS of £130 million annually.
Fatty foods can spark the production of painful gallstones - and the only cure is often the removal of the gallbladder.
Most operations are done by keyhole surgery meaning that sufferers have a shorter hospital stay.
But more complex procedures can cost up to £5,000.
The average age of a patient undergoing the procedure – called a cholecystectomy – has also fallen in recent years to 51 as more middle-age Brits are struck down.
Figures from NHS Digital reveal there were 74,907 hospital appointments last year linked to gallbladder removal operations.
Ten years ago the figure stood at just 48,064.
The data also shows more than 8,000 of the procedures were carried out on people in their 20s and another 11,000 ops were conducted on men and women aged in their 30s.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: “It may sound heavy-handed but every secondary school child should know that a constant unhealthy diet could possibly result in the agony of them having gallstones in their twenties.
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“If that doesn't wean them off eating junk, so be it, but leaving them unaware of what they could be doing to themselves is, frankly, irresponsible.
“Sure, you can still live without a gall bladder - but at what cost.”
The gallbladder stores bile that is then pushed into the stomach to help it break down food.
Experts warn a high fat diet can trigger the production of gallstones which can be incredibly painful for patients.
In most cases the easiest treatment is to remove the gallbladder as most people can live without it.
Anton Emmanuel, medical director at Core, a charity that funds research into all diseases of the gut, liver and pancreas, said: "It is important to remember that most people who have gallstones will have no symptoms from them.
"Their presence doesn't automatically explain all forms of abdominal pain.
“However, it is clear that possibly related to diet and lifestyle factors, we're seeing more and younger patients presenting with gallstones in ultrasound scanning.
“In those who have symptoms explicable by stones, cholecystectomy can help.
"But there needs to be a note of caution as the procedure is not without potential complications, such as diarrhoea and abdominal pain.”
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