Health A-Z

Medical Content Created by the Faculty of the
Harvard Medical School

Gallstones

Expected Duration

Smaller gallstones sometimes float out of the gallbladder on their own and are eliminated from the body in feces. Gallstone attacks also can calm down on their own if the bothersome stones shift position within the gallbladder. However, the majority of people whose gallstones cause symptoms will require surgery to cure the problem and will continue to have symptoms until the gallbladder is removed. Even when a gallstone attack subsides on its own, the symptoms will return within two years in about two of three untreated people.