Tell me about having your gallbladder out?

[AprilBaby]

It's looking like I need mine out. I hear it's an easy surgery/recovery?

 

[sln]

I had mine out almost 3 years ago, not too bad. I was pretty medicated for a few days but was given a nice 2 weeks off per Doctor. You will feel so much better after. Good luck

 

[packrat]

The only one I can reference is my husband having his out several years ago. Recovery wise.....well, he's a guy, so.....

There were three tiny little incisions. I want to say in a triangle. He took a week off work and was told to take two to three. Now, mind you, I had an umbilical hernia fixed and was told to take 6-8 weeks off and I took three days, so I'm not really sure how hard it would be for a female to have her gallbladder removed. He does still have problems, tho not as bad as before removal.

 

[AprilBaby]

Thank you both! I can't possibly feel worse than I do now!

 

[UrsTx]

My coworker had hers removed this past Mar 11. She was driving by Mar 19 and returned to work Mar 21.

 

[AprilBaby]

Perfect! I've already been out of work for a week sick so I need to minimize off time!

 

[hoover]

Hi AprilBaby,

I just had my gallbladder removed recently and it was done laparoscopically. There were 3 small incisions on around the right side of my stomach plus one above my belly button. The procedure itself took about an hour and they send you home a few hours after you wake up, with a prescription for pain killers and Restoralax. Surgeon gave a note for 2 weeks off of work.

A couple things that I noticed (possibly tmi):
Your body will find ways to release the air that they pumped into your abdomen, don't be surprised if you're quite ... um... gurgly. Nurses recommended moving as much a possible to work the air out.
Your digestive system may take a few days to a week or more to adjust, and the trips to the bathroom will decrease/become less urgent.
I eased my way back to normal eating starting with broth, then gradually moving towards solid food. I found that taking digestive enzymes and fibre supplements help, but I don't take it with every meal and don't plan on taking it long term.

Hope the procedure goes smoothly and you have a quick recovery! You should feel much better afterwards.

 

[Snowdrop13]

A good surgeon can take a gallbladder out in 30 minutes, so it's a quick op with a short recovery and you may get home the same day (some places, like mine, might keep you overnight). All the best, I hope it goes very well!

 

[AprilBaby]

Thank you both!

 

[AdaBeta27]

When I was in R.N. school in late 2011, instructors told us that some surgeons were actually returning to the traditional incision procedure for gallbladder removals due to many post-op infections from laparoscopic surgeries. The concern wasn't nosocomial (hospital acquired) infections, for a change. It was that surgeons were starting to think that a larger incision provided a better means to get in there and inspect tissue and really clean out existing infection that might somehow remain unnoticed in a laparoscopic procedure. This was in the Pittsburgh, PA, area. yymv. Ask your doctor for an update on that school of thought.

 

[evergreen]

Wow, returning to the traditional open gallbladder operation as a "standard" would be a huge tragedy. It is one of the most painful incisions we've ever come up with (through muscle, right under the diaphragm so it hurts every time you breathe!). My grandma had a conventional (open) cholecystectomy and she said it was vastly more painful than unmedicated, unassisted childbirth in rural Brazil. Of an 11-lb baby. Yes, sometimes it's necessary, and you must have a surgeon who is comfortable switching tactics from laparoscopic to an open approach if it is no longer safe to proceed laparoscopically, but it's *very* unusual. Especially in people who have not had extensive prior abdominal surgeries or intraabdominal infections.

April, I'm an anesthesiology resident and have done the anesthesia for many a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Even at an academic medical center - where things go slowly! - it's only about 2-3 hours between preop and recovery. Sometimes people go home the same day, most the next day after proving they can keep down liquids, Jell-O, and maybe a low-fat meal, and after walking around a bit and testing out the oral pain medications. Regarding infection risk, the most up-to-date recommendations for perioperative antibiotics are *none* as long as there's no active infection in the gallbladder ("cholecystitis") and they are otherwise at low risk of infections (i.e., not obese, not diabetic, not immunocompromised, etc). Basically, in otherwise healthy people, the infection rate with laparoscopic gallbladder removal is so low the risk to a patient of IV antibiotics outweighs the benefits of preventing a tiny number of infections. Since you have been having symptoms recently, that might be enough to kick up into a higher-risk group who would receive prophylactic antibiotics at the time of surgery, but it is up to your care providers and the institutional policies.

I'm sorry you have to have surgery, but if you need a surgery, this is a very safe and unremarkable one to have! Good luck!