Gallbladder Surgery

What health conditions affect your gallbladder?

Your liver produces bile, then sends it through a small tube to the gallbladder, where it’s stored until it’s needed to digest fatty foods in the small intestine. Gallbladder surgery may be needed when the flow of bile is blocked by narrowed ducts, tumors, or gallstones.

The two most common problems that affect your gallbladder are:

Gallstones

Gallstones occur when the components found in bile are out of balance. For example, if your bile has too much cholesterol, you may develop hard pieces of cholesterol gallstones. You can also produce gallstones from excess bilirubin.

Cholecystitis

Cholecystitis, or inflammation of the gallbladder, occurs when gallstones get too large and block the ducts that carry bile out of your gallbladder. You can also develop cholecystitis if a tumor or scar tissue blocks bile flow. These blockages make bile build up in the gallbladder, causing inflammation, infection, and, potentially, a ruptured gallbladder.

What are the symptoms of gallbladder disease?

Gallstones and cholecystitis produce the same symptoms, which include:

• Pain in your upper right abdomen
• Pain radiating to your right shoulder or back
• Tenderness in your abdomen
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fever
• Jaundice

When is gallbladder surgery necessary?

Most patients who develop cholecystitis or gallstones eventually need cholecystectomy, or surgery to remove the gallbladder, because they’re at high risk of both conditions recurring and worsening. Your surgeon can safely remove your gallbladder and redirect bile flow from the liver straight to the small intestine.

When the surgeons at Rockwall Surgical Specialists perform cholecystectomy, they use laparoscopic surgery and single-site robotic surgery.

Both types of surgery are minimally invasive, but laparoscopic surgery requires several small incisions, while single-site robotic surgery can be performed through one tiny incision.

During robotic surgery, your surgeon controls roboticized arms that contain the surgical instruments. Robotic surgery allows for better precision and movement than is possible with human hands. The advanced robotic arms are also small enough to work in places where human hands can’t easily reach.

What are the benefits of minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic surgery?

Using just one incision or a few small incisions causes less trauma to your body. As a result, you gain health benefits such as:

• Fewer complications
• Lower risk of infection
• Less postoperative pain
• Shorter stay in the hospital
• Minimal scarring
• Quicker recovery and return to normal activities

If you have questions about gallbladder surgery, call Rockwall Surgical Specialists or book a consultation online.