Gallbladder Removal Using a Laparoscopic Method

Gallbladder surgery occurs approximately 50,000 times every year in the United States, making it one of the most common surgeries. The gallbladder is located under the liver and stores bile. When you eat fatty food, your gallbladder squeezes bile through ducts to help in digestion. In many individuals, gallstones, usually made of cholesterol, form in the gallbladder. They normally cause no problem unless they become lodged in a duct. This causes a great deal of pain. While alternative treatments such as diet are available, the long-term solution to gallbladder problems is often laparoscopic surgery.

Who is a candidate?

• Laparoscopic surgery is the standard method of treating symptomatic gallbladder problems. There are a few situations in which a physician might choose another treatment. These would include patients who are pregnant, who cannot tolerate anesthesia or who have cardio-pulmonary disease. Additionally, patients who have had previous abdominal surgeries may not be candidates for laparoscopic surgery.

How it Works

• An tubelike instrument called a cannula is inserted in the area of the belly button. Then a laparoscope, a small magnifier connected to a camera, is inserted into the cannula. This allows the surgeon to see the gallbladder. Usually three small incisions are made in the abdomen. Cannulas are also inserted through these incisions and allow the surgeon to separate the gallbladder from the other organs and remove it through one of the openings.

Single-Port Surgery

• Dr. Kristi Harold, Director of the Mayo Clinic's Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, recently preformed the first single-port laparoscopic surgery. She used flexible instruments through a single port in the belly button. Dr. Harold indicated that the requirements for single-port laparoscopic surgery are the same as for standard laparoscopic surgery. Additionally, this type of surgery has a more rapid recovery and leaves no visible scar.

Risks

• In general, this operation is considered relatively safe. But no surgery is without risks. The standard risks associated with any surgery are related to anesthesia and infection. Additionally, blot clots can form. The most serious risk usually associated with gallbladder removal is injury to the bile duct. Nicking or cutting the wrong bile duct can lead to serious problems and may require additional surgeries. The presence of jaundice after the surgery is a symptom that you should inform your physician of immediately. Other organs in the abdomen area can be injured as well.