What is Gallbladder Surgery
Benrus Surgical performs gallbladder surgery on patients.
The gallbladder stores bile, which is a fluid in your body that helps you to digest food. If there are problems with the gallbladder, you can get hard fragments called gallstones built up in the organ that can be anywhere from the size of a grain of rice to a golf ball.
These hard formations don’t just go away. If they are causing pain or other problems, then the doctor can prescribe a cholecystectomy, or a removal of the gallbladder. Nearly 80% of people suffering from gallstones will need surgery.
If the gallstones are not causing problems, you do not need to have surgery. However, the stone can block the bile ducts, causing a gallbladder attack consisting of intense pain in the gut that can last several hours and is described as “knife-like” If you do not treat gallstones, they can cause real problems, including:
- Cholecystitis, or an inflamed gallbladder
- Pancreatitis, or an inflamed pancreas
- Cholangitis, inflamed bile ducts
Recovery time varies, depending on the type of surgery performed. Open surgery can require a hospital stay and may require 6 to 8 weeks for your body to fully heal, while a laparoscopy is less invasive, and you will have less pain and shorter healing time.
With laparoscopic surgery, you can often go home from the hospital that same day, and be back to normal in 2 weeks.