Gallstones Surgery Recovery Time

There was a time when gallstone removal surgery was one of the most feared and painful procedures. However, due to many technological advances in the field of medicine, there are many new and easier approaches towards getting gallstones removed from the gallbladder and live a healthy life. In extreme cases, the gallstone surgery includes the removal of the entire gallbladder along with the gallstones in it! Therefore, the gallstones surgery recovery time depends upon the surgical procedure used to perform the gallstone removal. You will understand the varied surgical approaches for gallstone removal and their recovery time as we proceed further with this article. Have a look...

Gallstones Surgery Procedures and Recovery Time

As per statistics, women are twice as likely to develop gallstones in their bladder as compared to men. There are other factors like ethnicity, obesity, diabetes, high fat diet, rapid weight loss, levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body, and so on, which add to the risk of gallstones formation. The gallstones surgery cost and recovery depends upon the condition of the gallstones and the respective procedure used for treatment. The surgery used for gallstones removal is known as Cholecystectomy. There are basically two ways of performing cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a procedure wherein a laparoscope is inserted into the abdomen with attached video camera. The video camera helps the surgeon to locate the position of the gallstones and dissect the gallbladder from the liver and remove the gallbladder completely. This surgical procedure is known to be one of the best treatment in terms of faster recovery time, which is usually 4 to 6 weeks. However, the patient is discharged the next day after the procedure.
If the case is complicated and laparoscopic cholecystectomy cannot be used, then the doctor may suggest the older way of doing the surgery which is referred to as open cholecystectomy. Although, in the older days, this approach involved a lot of gallbladder removal side effects, nowadays, with revised surgical approach, it is not as complicated as it used to be. In this surgical procedure a larger incision is given in the abdomen and the recovery time is much more than the laparoscopic surgery. The patient is required to stay in the hospital for at least a week and the recovery also takes up to a few months.

Gallstones Surgery Risks

Although a gallbladder surgery is pretty much safe and doesn't involve much risks, at times certain gallbladder treatments and surgeries can lead to gallbladder surgery complications. The risks involved include injury of the neighboring organs, leakage of the bile in the gallbladder, debris of the gallstone remaining even after surgery and so on. Although these incidences occur very rarely, but they have resulted in many complications and repeated surgeries. Yes, many times, gallbladder surgery needs to be repeated because of some previous error, or re-occurrence of the gallstones. In this situation, the doctors may opt for open cholecystectomy instead of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, if the gallbladder has been removed effectively, then there are rarely any chances of re-occurrence of gallstones.
After going through this write-up, you might have understood that the recovery time from a gallstones surgery varies from person to person, depending upon various factors. Many times the gallstones end up blocking the movement of the bile and can also lead to pancreatitis. The area becomes highly infected and inflamed due to which the surgery may become more complicated and it may take more time for the patient to recover. It is highly advisable for you to get in touch with your doctor if you still have problems regarding the same. Going through this article on gallstones home remedy would also prove to be helpful in this case. Make sure that you refrain yourself from exerting too much and also eat low fat and acidic diet. Take proper rest and follow the doctor's instructions as advised for a speedy recovery. Get well soon.