Gallstones updated Wed Mar 26 2008 1:24 am CDT

The most common of all problems of the gallbladder is gallstones which is a condition doctors refer to as cholelithiasis. Gallstones can be caused by a concentration of bile acids, cholesterol, and phospholipids in the bile. It is estimated that 20 million Americans have gallstones and that one in ten people have gallstones without even knowing it. It is also estimated that one in five Americans over the age of 65 have gallstones.