Approximately 8% percent of the adult population or more than 5.5 million people in the United Kingdom have gallstones. About 50,000 of these patients undergoing gallbladder surgery each year.

Gallstones (pictured rigth) are composed principally of cholesterol. Stones tend to grow for the first 2-3 years, at which point growth tends to stabilize; 85 percent of all gallstones are less than 2 cm in diameter. Most patients (about 80%) with gallstones remain symptom-free for many years and may, in fact, never develop symptoms. However, the consequences of gallstones may be severe, ranging from brief episodes of biliary pain to potentially life-threatening complications, such as acute infections of the gallbladder or pancreas...