Bob
While it is true that there are several ways to remove a gall stone and even save the gall bladder (sound waves in particular), they just come back. You have to cure the underlying disorder and not just the symptom(s). Also, a person may not be a good candidate for the newer procedures. I've had 5 major gut operations, with three in just the last three years. That resulted in a "stomach full" of adhesions. And the drainage line (my gall bladder was infected and swollen) that was required during the two weeks before surgery actually made it impossible to find the gall bladder via x-ray. So my surgeon, the retired chief of surgery at the Hopkins, came in and did a large cut folling the discharge tube to what was left of my gall bladder and its 6 crystal stones (which, of course, had never showed on a C-scan or MRI). Eating is a problem, but the problem of a gall bladder attack (and I had three in two months) is now over. It was difficult, but worth it.