Laparoscopic surgery to remove the
gallbladder. Usually four small
incisions are made in the
abdomen (one of which is in the
belly button), and a
laparoscope and surgical intruments can be inserted. The
gallbladder is detached and removed through the
belly button. Often, the bile duct is examined during the procedure to make sure there are no
gallstones present there (
choledocolithiasis).
This
surgery is now commonly done on an
outpatient basis, the patient remaining in the
hospital until they can
walk,
eat/
drink, and
pee on their own.
Risks and Complications
This is the most common treatment for
cholecystitis and
cholelithiasis.
this
surgery, in the grand arena of surgeries, isn't much to
worry about. but it hurt a hell of a lot more than i expected. i woke up and i couldn't see -- a residual effect of the
anesthesia. after the
confusion of blindness was gone and i could see fuzzy shapes, i began to notice the intense pain in my
abdomen. i was sure that something had gone wrong and the operation had been converted to an
open cholecystectomy. but alas, no. the
operation was just much more painful than i had expected it to be. i was given several shots of
morphine into my IV line, none of which offered any relief. i was finally given a shot of
demerol to the
ass which did the trick quite nicely. my
abdomen was full of
carbon dioxide they use to expand the area in which they need to operate. the
gas (although they try to get much of it out during the procedure) rose through my
chest and settled into my
neck, which became almost as painful as my tummy.
but the worst part of it was the feeling in my
belly button. they actually pull the
gallbladder out through an incision in the
belly button. the only way i can explain the feeling in my
belly button is this (and forgive the
crudeness): sometimes, when you have a firm, large
bowel movement, afterwards you may feel as though your
rectum may never get back to normal. my
belly button felt stretched and distended in the same way. it didn't quite
hurt, but it just felt
wrong.
i had few complications from the
surgery. the next day my throat was raw and i could barely speak, but this was gone the next morning. this was due to the airway tube placed in my windpipe (i don't quite understand why it started to hurt the next day). i was in
bed for several days -- my abdomen
hurt.
painkillers are really a must, and
aspirin (even with
codeine) wouldn't cut the
mustard. it was oral
demerol for me.
i was told not to remove the bandages from the
incisions -- to leave them alone until they fell off on their own. unfortunately, despite my best attempts at keeping the area
clean, the sticky bandages would curl up at the edges and collect
dirt and
lint, and two of the four incisions became infected. the incision in my belly button became particularly painful, as it was right where the elastic waistband of my underpants would sit.
after a
week, i was right as
rain, though still tender in that area.