Cholecystectomy is a surgical procedure to remove gallbladder. Gall bladder is a small pear shaped organ located just below the liver. It stores bile, a digestive fluid that helps to break down fatty foods. Gallstones are the most commonly occurring disorder of the gallbladder.
Some of the common symptoms of gallstones are pain, fever, jaundice, vomiting and nausea. If the symptoms worsen your condition, then your doctor will suggest for cholecystectomy, which is either performed laparoscopically or through open surgery. Cholecystectomy procedure is also recommended to remove gallstones in the gallbladder and bile duct. The procedure also treats inflammation of the pancreas and gallbladder. It is the only procedure to prevent the gall stones.
Once stones are formed it likely that more stones are formed in the gallbladder in the future. Best treatment for this situation is to remove entire gallbladder not only the stones.
Procedure
Laparoscopic surgery or keyhole surgery:
In this procedure, the surgeon makes four small incisions (0.5-2cm length) in your abdomen. Through one of the incisions a laparoscope, a small fiber-optic tube with a tiny camera, is inserted into the abdomen. Special surgical instruments are inserted through the other incisions to remove the gallbladder. Through this approach, your surgeon will be able to view the surgery on a large screen.
During this procedure, cholangiography (X-ray of the bile duct) is taken to look bile duct for any abnormalities and if your surgeon finds stones in the bile duct, they can also be removed.
Some of the possible complications after cholecystectomy include bleeding, blood clots, wound infection, bile leakage into the abdomen, and injury to the bile duct, intestine, and blood vessels. However, these complications are uncommon and can be treated.
Advantages of laparoscopic surgery over open surgery
Laparoscopic surgery requires minimal recovery time, shorter hospital stay, and less pain and discomfort after surgery. Most of the patients are discharged from the hospital within 24 hours.
Open surgery requires longer hospital stay and recovery time and requires longer time to operate, and causes a large scar.
General Surgery
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