Gall stone surgery or Cholecystectomy
Usually the gall baldder is reomoved along with the gall stones because if left behind it can cause recurrence of gall stones.
Methods
- Open method
- Laparoscopic method
Open method
This is the conventional method wherein the surgeon removes the gallbladder through a single, large incision in the abdomen. Done under general anesthesia and surgery lasts for 1 to 2 hours.
Laparoscopic method
In this method the surgeon removes the gall bladder through several small incisions in the abdomen. It is also done under general anasthesia and lasts for around 2 hours. Before the procedure one has to undergo intraoperative cholangiography to know the precise anatomy of bile ducts. It has the advantages over open method like decreased bleeding, decreased risk of infection and shortened hospital stay.
Indications
- Cholelithiasis-Gallstones in the gallbladder
- Choledocholithiasis-Gallstones in the bile duct
- Cholecystitis-Gallbladder inflammation
- Pancreatitis-Pancreas inflammation
- Absolute indications of Open method over Laparoscopic method
- Cholangitis
- Peritonitis
- Portal hypertension
- Third trimester of pregnancy.
- Major bleeding disorder or use of medicines to prevent blood clotting (blood thinners or anticoagulants).
- Scar tissue from previous abdominal surgeries(because Scar tissue may make laparoscopic surgery more difficult)
- Pulmonary diseases such as emphysema
Risks
Some of the rare complications of cholecystectomy include
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Injury to nearby structures such as bile duct, liver and small intestine
- Pneumonia
- Pancreatitis
- Bile leakage
Sucess rate
Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is safe and effective. Surgery gets rid of gall stones within the gall bladder while it does not remove stones in the common bile duct. There is a very rare risk of gallstones being formed in the common bile duct years after the gallbladder is removed.
