General Surgery: Multiple Procedures. Individual Expertise.

Your gall bladder is a small sack-like organ that lies under your liver. Its function is to store the bile that your liver produces. When you eat, the gall bladder squeezes and releases the bile into your digestive tract to help with digestion of food.

Reasons For Gallbladder Surgery

The most common gall bladder problem is gallstones-small, pebble-like substances formed by the hardening of liquid within the gall bladder. These form due to an abnormality in the balance of bile storage. Gallstones may not cause any problems and go undetected. However, the gallstones may cause pain, or become lodged in the duct that drains the gall bladder and the liver. This condition can cause infection, liver conditions, and pancreatitis. Gall bladder dysfunction is another condition of the gall bladder that can cause pain.

Symptoms of gall bladder disease vary. Pain in your upper abdomen-especially in the middle and to the right-is the most common complaint. Gall bladder dysfunction can also cause unexplained nausea, vomiting, right shoulder or back pain. Gall bladder pain and ulcer pain are very similar, and the exact cause of the pain must be determined before you undergo gallbladder removal.

It is uncertain why some people develop gall bladder troubles and others don't. However, there are certain people who have a higher tendency to develop gall bladder problems. These are people who eat large amounts of fat and fried food, overweight men and women or people who lose weight too fast.

Interestingly enough, women have a greater chance of developing gallbladder trouble, especially if they are pregnant or have ever been pregnant. In addition, there is a tendency for gall bladder problems to run in the family. Of course, there are people with none of the above characteristics who develop gall bladder disease.

Gallbladder Surgery

Determining gall bladder disease will likely require a gall bladder ultrasound and blood tests. Often, if the diagnosis is not conclusive, you may be tested for gall bladder function or you may require an upper endoscopy (internal camera-guided analysis) to evaluate for ulcer disease.

Surgical removal of the gall bladder is performed in one of two ways: via a laparoscopic gall bladder removal or open gall bladder surgery.

• Laparoscopic gall bladder removal requires four tiny incisions, a laparoscope and special instruments to remove your gallbladder. This is done as an outpatient surgery with release from the hospital usually happening the same day or the next morning. Pain is minimal and most people return to work within a week.

• Open Gall bladder Surgery: Very rarely, due to extenuating circumstances, the gall bladder removal cannot be performed with the laparoscope and the patient will then require an open procedure. This is performed using one large incision made below the rib cage on the right side. Patients generally require a two to three day hospitalization for pain control. Return to work is generally 2-4 weeks depending on the physical requirements of their job.