Did you know that every year in our country, 180,000 gallbladder surgeries are performed for gallstones and sludge, and in 1300 of them, unwanted injuries occur in the large bile ducts during the surgery? The situation in the world is actually close to this. Five out of a thousand patients who undergo closed gallbladder removal surgery develop bile duct injuries. This type of injury is highly undesirable. It can take the person beyond gallbladder disease and turn them into liver disease. It requires additional surgery and interventions and can sometimes lead to cirrhosis (liver failure). It is very important that the patient comes to a center and physician that can perform this treatment as soon as possible after the injury occurs.
So, is the risk of injury during surgery the same for all gallbladder patients? No it is not. If there is inflammation due to gallstones, the risk increases slightly in these patients. Gallbladder stones may cause complaints of pain and indigestion, but if inflammation called cholecystitis occurs, the patient experiences abdominal pain that is more severe than the previous pain in that area and sometimes fever. In these patients, surgery should be performed immediately if possible, that is, within the first 3 days, so that the surgery can be completed before the risk becomes too high since the inflammation is still mild. If more than a week has passed since the onset of inflammatory pain, the risk of injury increases significantly. In this case, it is necessary not to perform surgery, to wait 6 weeks with medication for the inflammation to soften and decrease, and then to undergo surgery.
Those who have had an attack of gallbladder inflammation but did not undergo surgery thinking that the pain is gone, will not be injured if they experience inflammation again in the following months. The risk increases slightly. Let's not forget that the risk increases with each new attack. With each attack of inflammation, the risk of the surgery turning from closed to open increases. While the rate of completing the surgery with the closed method is 98% in a patient who has never had an attack, the rate of conversion to open surgery increases in a person who has had several attacks and whose sac has now hardened. While some surgeons complete the surgery 90% closed in this case, in some surgeons this rate drops to 60%.
The patient who has the surgery with the closed method is usually discharged the next day, and the pain is more in open surgery. It may take 4-5 days for discharge.
Please remember that if you have severe pain under the ribs in the upper right part of your abdomen, it may be due to gallstones, and if inflammation is detected, it is very important to have surgery immediately, without delay.
I wish you healthy and pain-free days.
<Read: 0
