DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 72-year-old woman. I had an abdominal ultrasound. The report said there is an approximately 1.5-cm calculus (stone) in my gallbladder.

I found on the computer that there are nonsurgical alternatives to surgery. I have some pain, but it is bearable and forgettable.

I cannot make a decision about having surgery. I don’t look forward to the after effects.

Please give me your opinion and mention other ways of dealing with a gallstone. — E.A.

ANSWER: People with one or more gallstones can ignore them if they are not kicking up a fuss. Fewer than one in five people with a stone or stones will have a true gallbladder attack within 15 years. If no attack happens within 15 years, none is likely to ever occur. That’s a relatively small number who have an attack, and those people can be treated when and if an attack occurs. A gallbladder attack is a memorable event. It most often starts suddenly and lasts for 15 minutes to five or more hours. The pain is felt in the upper right side of the abdomen, or the center of the upper abdomen and frequently radiates to the area of the shoulder blade. Now, with laparoscopic surgery — the kind of surgery done with a scope and small incisions — recuperation is quite short.

Gallstones can be dissolved with an oral medicine called ursodeoxycholic acid. If the stone is smaller than 1.5 cm in diameter (yours is 1.5 cm) the chances of it dissolving in six months to two years is 50 percent. There’s always the possibility it will recur. The drug is expensive. Not many people are thrilled by this treatment.

If your doctor believes your pain results from this gallstone and you wish to be free of it, then surgery is your best bet.

If pain is not an issue, you safely can defer any treatment.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had a TURP done about four years ago. Since then I have had no erections, actually no sexual urges to speak of. Is this inevitable? I am a vigorous 80-year-old, and I still work full-time. Also, my urination is very frequent, day and night. That’s annoying. — J.S.

ANSWER: “TURP” stands for “transurethral resection of the prostate,” a procedure done on an enlarged gland to make urination less frequent. A scope, equipped to pare the gland with heat, is inserted into the penis to the level of the gland. No cutting of the abdomen or pelvis is needed.

Loss of sexual desire and the ability to have an erection are not common consequences. Neither is frequent urination. It’s supposed to cure that.

Have you tried any of the medicines that restore erectile function: Viagra, Cialis and Levitra? Have you gone back to your urologist? Do so. These complaints could be treatable.

The booklet on the prostate gland discusses enlargement and cancer. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 1001, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My son, 64, has had high blood pressure for four years. The doctors tried to find a cause, so he had a kidney scan. He was told he has a cyst on the kidney. How serious is this? It sounds dreadful. — N.B.

ANSWER: Last week I had a question about liver cysts. I can repeat it almost verbatim for your son. Since the dawn of scans, cysts on many organs have been discovered. They used to go unrecognized. A cyst is simply a small sac-like structure that contains fluid or semi-solid material. Most cysts are not cancerous. At age 30, 5 percent of the population has a kidney cyst; by age 70, almost 40 percent does. The scan can provide enough information to tell if the cyst has the makings of a cancer.

Some cystic conditions are serious. Polycystic kidney disease, an inherited condition, is an example.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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