Laparoscopic Gallbladder Surgery | The Surgical Clinic

Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is a minimally invasive treatment for gallstone disease. Gallstone disease is a common problem that affects the body’s biliary system. The biliary system includes the liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts which release bile (a thick, yellowish fluid) into the small intestine to aid digestion. Sometimes the bile combines with cholesterol and other minerals to form gallstones.

Usually, symptoms of gallbladder disease fade over time. However, more extreme cases can cause fevers and jaundice. In the case of severe symptoms, you may require surgery to remove your gallbladder. But like other disease processes, you benefit by understanding more about the disease itself and how surgery as treatment resolves the symptoms.

Why Should I Get Laparoscopic Gallbladder Surgery?

If you have gallstones, removing the gallbladder prevents further attacks. The gallbladder is a small organ located under the liver, which stores the bile the liver produces. Your body uses bile to break down fat, so whenever you eat foods that contain fat or cholesterol, the gallbladder releases bile into the intestine.

What Causes Gallstones?

However, hard, crystal-like particles can form in the gallbladder when levels of certain substances in bile are high. These solid particles form either as the result of bile that has too much cholesterol in it or high bilirubin (bile pigment) in the gallbladder.

Cholesterol Stones

Yellow-green cholesterol stones, which are made up of hardened cholesterol, are the most common type of gallstone. Some of these stones are as small as grains of sand; others can be as large as a golf ball. You can have one large gallstone or many tiny stones.

Pigment Gallstones

Pigment stones, which are less common, form from an increased amount of bilirubin. They are smaller and darker in color than cholesterol stones. Black pigment stones, which are usually found in the gallbladder, often are caused by hemolytic anemia — a condition that destroys red blood cells. Individuals who have recently had roundworm or E. coli infection are at greater risk of developing softer, brown pigment gallstones that normally occur in the bile ducts.

What Problems Do Gallstones Cause?

A gallstone that gets lodged in a bile duct blocks the flow of bile. When this happens, you may develop symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and pain in the upper right abdomen that can radiate to the back or right shoulder. Additional symptoms include bloating, loss of appetite, weight loss, and loose, oily stools. In severe cases, you can develop fever and jaundice — a condition characterized by your skin and the whites of your eyes turning yellow.

Symptoms of Gallstones

Gallstones can appear without causing any symptoms. Some of these symptoms can last for hours or just a few minutes. The following indications and symptoms may occur if a gallstone lodges in a duct and causes a blockage:

Pain in the upper right portion of your abdomen that comes on suddenly and gets worse quickly
Pain in the center of your abdomen, right below your breastbone, that comes on suddenly and gets worse quickly
Back pain between your shoulder blades is a common ailment
Your right shoulder hurts
Nausea

Decrease Your Chance of developing Gallstones

Consume a balanced diet rich in fiber and healthy fats such as fish oil and olive oil. Refined carbohydrates, sugar, and harmful fats should all be avoided
Get some exercise on a regular basis. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise five days a week
Avoid diets that require you to drop a lot of weight quickly
If you’re a woman who’s prone to gallstones, talk to your doctor about whether you should avoid the use of hormonal birth control.

When to Talk to a Doctor

general surgery in davidson county for gallbladder surgery If you see any signs or symptoms that concern you, make an appointment with your doctor.

If you experience any of the following signs and symptoms of a major gallstone complication, seek medical help right away.

You can’t sit still or find a comfortable posture because you’re in so much agony in your abdomen.
Your skin and the whites of your eyes are turning yellow (jaundice)
Chills with a high temperature

Options for Gallstone Treatment

If medication fails to break down gallstones, surgery may be necessary to prevent recurrent episodes of cholecystitis, or inflammation of the gallbladder. Medication can take months to dissolve gallstones, and attacks often recur once you stop taking the medication.

Although eating fewer fatty foods and maintaining a healthy body weight are lifestyle practices that are good for your overall health, they aren’t always enough to reduce the risk of acute or chronic inflammation of the gallbladder. The pain of an attack, which can last for minutes or for several hours, occurs when a gallstone moves from the gallbladder into a bile duct.

How Surgery Is Performed

Surgeons often use laparoscopic gallbladder surgery to treat gallbladder disease. Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic cholecystectomy involves making several small incisions to the abdomen. However, the surgeon may need to perform an open surgery if you have scar tissue near the gallbladder from prior abdominal surgery or if you have severe gallbladder disease that leads to an enlarged liver and spleen.

If your surgeon recommends a laparoscopic procedure, he or she will insert a thin tube with a small, lighted camera at the end, along with tiny surgical tools, through one of the incisions in your abdomen. Your abdomen is then inflated with gas to allow the surgeon more room to work as he or she removes your gallbladder through the incisions.

After removing your gallbladder, the surgeon will take x-ray images of the bile ducts to check for other duct obstructions before stitching up the incisions. Generally, laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is an outpatient procedure that takes about 90 minutes.

What Complications Can Occur Without Surgical Treatment

Besides the pain that inflammation of the gallbladder causes, other potential complications include serious infection and the formation of scar tissue. If you experience symptoms but gallbladder disease goes untreated, gallstones can block the ducts in the pancreas, leading to pancreatitis, which also causes nausea or vomiting and abdominal pain that can radiate to the back.

Other symptoms include fever, chills, a tender abdomen, weakness, and pain that worsens after you eat. Although the symptoms of pancreatitis can range from mild to severe, the condition can lead to serious, or even life-threatening, complications. These may include malnutrition, diabetes, a pancreatic pseudocyst, an infection in the pancreas, or pancreatic cancer.

Severe pain, internal bleeding, and infection can occur if a pseudocyst ruptures. Severe infection, particularly abdominal infection or bloodstream infection, can cause sepsis — a condition that without treatment can lead to multi-organ failure and death.

When looking for relief from pain caused by gallstones or the complications of gallstones, contact The Surgical Clinic to schedule an appointment to discuss whether you need surgery.