The gallbladder is the place where the bile produced by the liver is stored. When we eat, the gallbladder contracts and expels its contents, which bind with the food to promote the absorption of food.
Bile is composed of different components such as cholesterol, hormones, bile salts… when the proportion is not exact these components precipitate giving rise to the appearance of stones.
We must operate on patients who:
– Have symptomatic stones in the gallbladder. The reason is to avoid complications caused by these stones: pancreatitis, bile infections (cholangitis), inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis), among others.
– Another reason for gallbladder surgery is when polyps of certain sizes appear in the gallbladder.
Gallbladder surgery by minilaparoscopy
Laparoscopy has been one of the greatest advances in abdominal surgery in the last 100 years. It allows abdominal surgeries to be performed without opening the abdomen. General anesthesia is required and the average surgery time is 40 minutes.
This offers a faster recovery with fewer complications. Little by little and with the advance of technology together with the acquisition of the surgeons’ skills we can decrease the abdominal trauma by using smaller and smaller forceps.
They are synonyms of mini laparoscopy: micro-laparoscopy or needlescopy.
Postoperative gallbladder surgery
The patient can restart the diet 6 hours after the operation. He/she will also be able to start walking and will finally be discharged from the hospital between 12 and 24 hours after the operation. Once at home, the patient recovers and returns to normal life. You should avoid gaining weight for a month and should follow a fat-free diet for the same period.
The advantages of this technique is that less and less trauma to the abdominal wall is performed, so there are fewer complications. It also presents a clear aesthetic evolution. We do not go from large scars to small scars, but from visible scars to others that are practically imperceptible.