Gallbladder Surgery The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ located in your upper abdomen, just below the liver. It stores bile to aid in the digestion of fatty foods. If the balance of chemicals in the gallbladder is upset, they may solidify into gallstones.

Outpatient Preop Inpatient Preop Gallbladder Surgery ASA Services

Gallstones

These stones may irritate the inner wall of the gallbladder; additionally, serious medical problems can result when they move outside the gallbladder. When a stone becomes lodged in the cystic duct near the gallbladder, it causes a blockage that leads to pain, nausea, vomiting, and other symptoms. In serious cases, the gallbladder may become infected. If the stone works its way further, it may become blocked in the common bile duct, near the pancreas. There, painful symptoms from jaundice to pancreatic inflammation can result.

Evaluation and Treatment

If you show symptoms of gallbladder disease, your doctor will administer a physical examination to determine if you have gallstones and if so, where they are located. Other possible tests include ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scans, and blood tests. All of these procedures are used to form a precise picture of where the gallstones are located, and determine the best approach for treatment.

A number of options exist for surgery. Traditional open surgery has been replaced in some cases by laparoscopy. Laparoscopic surgery uses tiny incisions and a special video camera. The doctor is able to perform the operation without creating any large incisions, and recovery is often much faster.