When is Gallbladder Surgery Necessary?

Gallbladder surgery is an invasive surgical procedure that involves the removal of your gall bladder. Typically, gallbladder surgery is reserved for patients with severe gallstones or with extremely dysfunctional gallbladders. Frequently, gallstones are formed due to inflammation of the gall bladder. Treating this inflammation can prevent future gallstone formation that may necessitate a more invasive surgery down the road.

If you have already had one episode of gall bladder inflammation and have experienced complications from chronic cholecystitis, you will require a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. They are also known as gall bladder removal surgery. In other cases, gallbladder surgery is necessary if there has been a tornado or rupture of the gall bladder, which could spill bile into the abdominal cavity and cause serious infection.

That being said, surgical intervention for gallstones is fairly standard. Of course, this will depend on whether you have mild or severe symptoms that need to be addressed by this procedure. According to the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, quite a small number of patients with symptomatic gallbladder disease need open surgery instead of laparoscopic procedures. The number estimates to be around 1 to 3%. If your doctor recommends a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, it should also be stated why the surgery may be necessary to alleviate certain symptoms caused by your condition. Some common reasons to remove a patient’s gallbladder include:

Severe Acute Pancreatitis

Severe acute pancreatitis is a sign you might need gallbladder surgery. Gallbladder surgery can remove gallstones and repair joints in the digestive system. Symptoms of severe acute pancreatitis include sudden pain, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, rapid breathing or fast heart rate, and yellowing skin or eyes (jaundice).

Causes of Severe Acute Pancreatitis: One cause of severe acute pancreatitis is high triglycerides combined with abusing alcohol or other drugs for a long period. High triglyceride levels increase the risk that red blood cells will become stickier and clump together, forming small clots (embolisms), which can block an artery in the pancreas, causing it to fail.

Other causes of Severe Acute Pancreatitis: A common cause of acute pancreatitis is gallstones in the gallbladder and eating too much fatty or greasy food. Gallstones can be made out of cholesterol, calcium salts, or pigments produced when bile breaks down in the gallbladder. If a stone gets stuck in one of the tubes that drains the gallbladder, it will stay there until it passes into the intestines, or you have your gallbladder removed. With repeated episodes of pancreatitis, eventually, damage to the pancreas becomes permanent, leading to chronic pancreatitis, which requires long-term treatment with digestive enzymes to help digest food properly.

Treatment of Severe Acute Pancreatitis: Treatment for severe acute pancreatitis includes giving intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration and reduce pain, anti-seizure medication to control seizures, medications to decrease stomach acid secretion, feeding with a liquid diet until the pancreas is completely healed, and surgery if it persists.

Severe Inflammation of the Pancreas (Pancreatitis)

The gallbladder and pancreas are part of the digestive system and share some functions. The gallbladder stores bile made by the liver and bile helps break down fat. Sometimes, diseases or conditions make it hard for bile to flow normally from the gallbladder into your small intestine. This can cause swelling (inflammation) that can affect not only your gallbladder but also the pancreas. One of the most common causes of inflammation of both organs is gallstones. Other causes include infections, pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer.

Symptoms can vary depending on what has caused inflammation. But some symptoms may include pain in the middle of your upper abdomen that may spread to your back, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, fever. If you have had any of these symptoms for more than a few days, see a doctor right away.

A Small Physical Tear of the Gallbladder Muscle (Focal Disruption) That Has Failed To Heal

Are you suffering from chronic or acute pain in your right upper abdomen? This pain could indicate biliary colic caused by gallstones lodged within your gallbladder, leading to inflammation and even infection. Over time, if ignored, these stones can lead to another ailment called acute cholecystitis.

Also known as biliary colic, this condition occurs when a small physical tear in the gallbladder muscle causes spasms resulting in severe pain around the area where the gallbladder is located. Gallbladder surgery is recommended if it becomes too painful for your body to withstand anymore, although not all people are candidates for this procedure. Your doctor will determine the severity of your case after a thorough physical examination. Treatment options are also based on the size of gallstones, level of infection or inflammation in the gallbladder, and whether bile ducts are blocked due to stone buildup.

Gallstones within Bile Ducts Leading To the Stomach, Which Cause Severe Vomiting and Pain

Gallstones form when cholesterol is in the biliary system. Cholesterol can crystallize and cause severe pain and vomiting if it moves from the liver to the gallbladder and then out of the body through the common bile duct.

This can occur when a person has gallstones blocking their bile ducts and causing them to become inflamed and irritated. The irritation is caused by digestive juices flowing back towards the liver instead of moving down to be absorbed in the duodenum. This causes pain and vomiting and yellowing eyes and skin (jaundice) due to high levels of Rubin within the bloodstream. Gallstones in the bile ducts are a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention and often surgery.

Gall Stones Blocking both the Cystic Duct and Common Bile Duct

The Gall’s bladder is a small organ located just below the Liver. Its job is to store bile produced by the Liver and then break down fat during digestion. It is normal for some people not to have their gallbladder due to genetic diseases or gall bladder inflammation. However, it may be necessary due to extreme cases where both the cystic duct and common bile duct are blocked simultaneously with stones, causing severe pain in both locations, even vomiting blood. The most common symptoms are upper right abdominal pain that comes and goes quickly after eating fatty foods. This can be painful at times, but many people live normal lives without surgery without eating high-fat diets.

This condition usually requires surgery due to the severity of the symptoms, but there is a less than 1% chance that surgeons will not remove all stones using this surgery. There are other surgeries available should both cystic and bile ducts remain blocked after gallbladder surgery.

It should be noted that gall bladder removal surgery is not considered a long-term solution by most doctors or health care professionals. Unfortunately, there are no effective nonsurgical treatments available for patients who require this type of treatment. This means you will need to pay close attention to your diet, as it may be altered after surgery as well as several months of treatment. For example, you will need to avoid fatty foods high in cholesterol and items such as spinach and broccoli.

In some cases, a doctor might recommend surgery only after nonsurgical management has been tried for a certain period. For instance, you may be asked to take medication before opting for a surgical treatment approach.

If you have undergone gallbladder removal surgery but still experience pain or other symptoms related to your condition, then you must make an appointment with your doctor right away. In many cases, these symptoms will subside over time as the body adjusts to its new state. However, if they persist or become more severe, this could indicate another issue that needs addressing.

If you have had severe complications with your gallbladder, then do not hesitate to contact us. We have surgeons that are highly professional in conducting gallbladder surgery safely. This will happen after our experts have conducted a safe examination to determine whether you need the surgery or not. Reaching us would be the best decision to make if you are suffering from this condition.