Gallbladder Surgery

Laparoscopic it's a breeze... full open procedure expect to be 4 to 6 weeks in recovery before returning to work.

Had mine out in November. No problems at all.

Having laparoscopic gallblader surgery at 68 I went in at 6:00am and was home before noon. Even fixed my bellybutton from an outie to an innie while he was there.

Not having had it myself but knowing some folks with gallstones who needed the surgery, their typical comment about hearing they needed their GB removed was "Can we do it this afternoon—or sooner?"

Your in for a real great.

And if you behave yourself, after the surgery you might get some of that spectacular rubber hello and my personal favorite, freezer burned ice cream.

You'll do fine.

Rushed into the hospital at 11:00pm with an acute gallbladder attack (never had one before and never been in so much pain before). Nine hours later I had the surgery, and a few hours later I was on my way home no worse for the wear except for 3 small Laparoscopic surgery scares.

Had it done a few years ago. Thought my bouts of nausea were from the quality of the stage play I was running (very bad)...

Most surgeons will tell you they will start out laparoscopic, with three small incisions, but if they decide to get artistic, they may have to slice you open so they can root around with both hands.

You'll learn which you had when you wake up.

Oh, you want to have this done by somebody who does a LOT of them. The surgeon I went to, when I asked him how many he'd done (at about 2 in the afternoon), he smiled and told me he'd done three that morning. Ok, he does a volume business.

I was lucky, waking up with three small incisions and thrown out a couple hours later.

For me, the real shock was riding in the car (I wasn't driving yet) a couple of days later -- I felt every damn bump in the road!

Coming home from surgery, I was still too drugged, and/or my guts weren't capable of much movement; one way or the other I didn't feel anything on the drive home. Sure as hell felt it two days later! Back to more or less normal in four days.

...and if you think THAT was painful, start offering prayers and/or sacrifices to your favourite deities that you never, ever have a kidney stone... That's painful!

(Side rant -- my grandmother, who lived to 98, had gallstones and kidney stones, and surgery for both. She left the hospital both times with little glass containers with the appropriate stones. Kept them in the china cabinet. Nowadays, at least in the U.S., you don't get them back, even though, dammit, I worked for YEARS to make those things!)

Had the laparoscopic version, which was great for small incisions and quicker healing. However, the contents spilled during removal, causing acid burns inside. Painful for a few days, but I survived.

I had gallbladder attacks for years and they just kept doing nothing. Then I had one so bad they thought it was a heart attack. I was put in the hospital for surgery but they had to wait for a week or two to get the infection down. They said it was gangrene. I was in the hospital the entire time. Finally they decided to do surgery. A team of (not so good) doctors worked on me so long that I woke up during surgery. They put me back under.
A long story short... My gallbladder had fused to my liver. The gallbladder had to be cut from my liver. I had only one stone. it was about an 1 1/2 x 3/4 of an inch. It was shaped into an oval and it was lodged in a duct. I still have the stone somewhere around here...
But after all that I no longer have the attacks I had before my gallbladder was removed and can eat anything I want. (maybe too much)

I had the surgery and agree with the theme here that chances are high your doctor will complete the laparoscopic procedure uneventfully and you'll come through with flying colors and be glad that your pre-surgical gallbladder pain is gone.

Everyone is different, so if you do need some more time than a day or two to feel yourself again, don't worry about it, but most people bounce back fast from this operation now.

One thing your post-op instructions may or may not mention that was true for me and for some other patients. You may have less ability to digest meals high in dietary fat. Doesn't happen to everyone but does happen to some patients.

If you have this issue, you'll find that you can eat some dietary fat--say a slice or two or maybe even three of pizza without an issue. Or you could have a burger and fries without a problem. But add a milkshake to the burger meal, or eat the whole pizza pie, and you may find you're running for a bathroom, even though you could have done this pre-surgery.

The reason is that the gallbladder's function is to store and release bile, an enzyme that goes to the small intestine to break down dietary fat. With the gallbladder gone, it can lead to a round or two of forceful diarrhea as the GI system expels the meal quickly. It's only an issue if you overdo it and can't be near a bathroom. Just be aware before pigging out in row 70 of that stadium.

Never had gallbladder surgery. Now kidney stones on the other hand...

Nuvi1300WTGPS

I have had several surgeries in my life and gallbladder was the easiest for me. The Lap is the way to go if possible. Only pain was the day of the surgery and mostly if i took a deep breath , probably put some pressure on the cuts. It was the 90's and they kept me overnight. Next morning i was ready to go.

The advancement in technology is ridiculous. It'll be a piece of cake.

Thank you

OK next Tuesday April 5 they will remove my gallbladders with laparoscopy, so I will like to drink a beer with pizza after a week... I hope I can, with out the vomiting feeling.

I'll have a bag of potato chips in your honor... For a few months before having mine out, I couldn't even look at a bag of potato chips without getting queasy...

April 5 is surgery day -- taking the #3 dog for work on both ends; getting him fixed and having his teeth cleaned. We'll see how he feels about getting into the car after that...

I believe Jonathan ate pizza yesterday, 4 days post-op, so hope your procedure works out as well.

~Angela

Hope you are getting well post-op!

That's because when a stone drops it's like a mini a atom bomb resonating throughout your body.

I had stones, over 44 days in and out of the hospital, while the tests they were running lead them in a particular direction they couldn't actually see the stones so they couldn't take the gall badder. During one of my at home stays I went through DT's from the pain patch they forgot to wean my off of, it was during that hospital visit that they finally saw the stones and took my bladder a few days later. Been fine ever since.

I had the 3 tiny incisions surgery and was back doing full normal eating and physical stuff in about a month.

I've had both. My first was a kidney stone many moons ago, most painful thing I ever experienced. I went to the ER and the DR. knew exactly why I was there, he said I was doing the kidney stone shuffle. My nurse had told me she had a kidney stone once, she had also had natural childbirth, said the stone was worse.

I have 2 painful kidney stones, although I've probably passed some without problem. The most recent painful one was this past Thanksgiving Day.

That said, the gallstone was a million times more painful.

today is day 9 day after, feel real good, eat every food, the only i don't drink a beer i want to way to the Dr. clear, walking 3 miles every day for exercises.

About diet... there are just some days when something you've found hasn't caused problems is going to one day - then won't next time you have it... be prepared for that.

and good luck with the procedure!

glad things went well for you. unlike kidney stones, gallstones won't come back -- your gallbladder is gone!

Like The Who said, "You won't get stoned again".

After the imaging study that identified a good sized (term of art, I certainly didn't consider it "good") kidney stone as the source of my agony, I had a few questions for the doctor...

Q: Any other stones on that side?

A: No.

Q: (suggestion, really), Okay, nothing that your imaging equipment can resolve.

A: (reconsidering), Yes, nothing that we can spot.

Q: How about the other kidney?

A: (thinking for a moment), We didn't see anything on that side.

So far, the one I had is the ONLY one I've had, and I'd really, really like it to stay that way!

Never go without eating, not a lot, just eat regular meals. If you skip a meal you'll get a sick feeling. The Gall Bladder used to hold that nasty stuff that now drains constantly and attacks your body if there's no food there to use/dilute it up

Chances are if you've had one you'll have more, without a drastic food changes. Not all kidney stones are painful. I know I've felt a few stones pass while urinating that went otherwise unnoticed. The two painful stones I had were many years apart.

^^Poor choice of word I think!!!

Time to start drinking beer!

good luck