Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the technique most commonly used and recommended by specialist surgeons to remove gallbladder stones. It is a simple procedure performed through small incisions. With this treatment it has been possible to minimize complications and pain in the postoperative period.
Gallbladder surgery: what does it consist of?
Gallbladder removal consists of separating the gallbladder from the liver using surgical instruments. Normally, and mostly, it is performed by minimally invasive surgery (2 to 4 small incisions, depending on the technique used). In this way an optic adapted to a camera is introduced into the abdomen, having previously injected C02 (carbon dioxide) into the abdominal cavity to separate the intestines from the abdominal wall, so that the instruments can be introduced without colliding with any viscera. The general surgeon performs the operation while watching through a television monitor.
Gallstones in the gallbladder, are they very common?
Between 10 and 20% of the adult population will have gallbladder stones, a figure that increases to 25-30% in people over 70 years of age. In terms of gender, the female to male ratio is 3 to 1.
The causes of gallbladder stone formation are not known. However, they are related to hormonal factors or the type of diet. It is also more frequent in multiparous women (who have given birth more than once), over 40 years of age and overweight.
When to Perform Gallbladder Surgery
Gallbladder surgery is the second most frequent abdominal surgery option. The surgical indication is conditioned by the symptomatology. If there are symptoms, the expert in general surgery will indicate surgery, although it is also indicated in those cases in which it is considered that there is a risk of presenting complications, such as a long life expectancy, the stones are very small or, on the contrary, larger than 2-3 cm.
Nowadays the morbidity of laparoscopic cholecystectomy ranges from 1.5 to 6% and mortality ranges from 0 to 0.2%.
Postoperative period of laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Postoperative pain is very controllable with usual analgesia, since the incisions are small, no more than 1cm. The postoperative period, therefore, is quite simple: in 24 hours the patient can be discharged and at home usually does not require more than a week of recovery to make a completely normal life, avoiding overexertion.
Alternative techniques to treat gallbladder stones
The alternatives to laparoscopic cholecystectomy are the Litroticia, which is no longer practiced due to the excess of complications it has, and the treatment with oral ursodeoxycholic to dissolve small cholesterol stones, which is not free of complications.
Today, however, the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallbladder stones is laparoscopic cholecystectomy.