Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy For Gallbladder Removal

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that sits under your liver on the right side of your abdomen. Your gallbladder is a storage organ for bile (bile is not produced by the gallbladder – it is produced by your liver).

You would need a laparoscopic cholecystectomy for these gallbladder or gallstone problems:

•  Inflamed gallbladders
• Gangrenous gallbladders
• Stones in the bile duct
• Stones impacted at the neck of the gall bladder

This operation is performed by inserting a tiny telescope with a video camera and special surgical instruments through 3 small incisions to see inside your abdomen and remove the gallbladder.

This method of surgery has largely replaced conventional open surgery for gallstones.

What Happens During Surgery

This type of surgery requires a General Anaesthetic where you will be unconscious throughout the surgery. As a surgeon, I’d need to make 3 small incisions in your umbilicus and upper abdomen. Your abdomen will be inflated with carbon dioxide gas so that there is space for the instruments.

First, I’ll then insert a 5 mm scope through the umbilicus. Next, special instruments and graspers go in through the other 2 incisions. This procedure takes 1-2 hours. Once the surgery is completed, your incisions will be sutured. As this is a minimally invasive surgery with small incisions, your scars will be minimal.

As a patient, you’d need to stay overnight at the hospital after the surgery. You will go home the next day though some patients may prefer to stay on for one more day. Most laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients are ready to go home by Day 2.