Removal of the gallbladder, or laparoscopic cholecystectomy, is the most common major surgery performed in the United States today. The minimally invasive surgical method, which became widely accepted in the medical community in the late 1980’s, evolved from a desire to perform the surgery in a way that was much easier on the patient. This newer, more efficient method is now the most trusted procedure. Involving only four small incisions, minimally invasive gall bladder surgery is the least scarring and is generally performed as outpatient surgery.

If you are in Florida and in need of gall bladder removal surgery, rest assured that the procedure has been perfected by our highly trained medical staff.  More information is available at http://www.floridacolonandrectaldoctors.com

What You Can Expect from Your Surgical Procedure

Unnecessary anxiety can be dispelled by having the proper information. Once a diagnosis has been made and it has been determined that laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder is the best option, you can expect the following events to take place:

• You will be treated as an outpatient and will most likely return home the same day as your surgery
• General anesthesia will be used for this surgery, which lasts about two hours
• Four small abdominal incisions will be made to allow insertion of the necessary instruments to remove the gallbladder
• The incisions will be covered with a small band-aid after the procedure and you should only experience minimal bleeding
• You will experience minimal pain, minimal scarring, and should be able to resume normal activities within a few days

Gallbladder Surgery Diet

Following the surgery, patients can expect to follow a low-fat diet for a period of time. The body needs time to recover from the organ loss. Foods to avoid after gallbladder surgery include fried and spicy foods, red meat and pork, dairy products, any juices that are acidic, and all beverages that are caffeinated or contain alcohol.

Fats will gradually be allowed back into the diet, and eventually, no severe dietary restrictions should be necessary.  Of course it is always wise to choose a well balanced diet, high in fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Once the gallbladder has been removed, the bile duct slowly enlarges and eventually assumes the bile-storage role that was once the job of the gallbladder. Once this process is complete, the body returns to operating normally.

Gallbladder Surgery Recovery

The main benefit of minimally invasive laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is the reduced recovery time involved. When the traditional surgery was still the norm, a hospital stay of several days and pain management was required. A large incision needed weeks to heal and had to be watched closely to avoid infection.

With today’s methods, you’ll be back to your normal routine within a few days and lingering pain should not be a concern. This is primarily due to the fact that the abdominal muscles are not cut through, as they once were during the traditional procedure.

Directly following the surgery, some patients may experience abdominal pain, muscle aches from the anesthesia, minor inflammation at the incision areas, and possible nausea.

Overall, your gallbladder surgery recovery time shouldn’t last more than a week to ten days.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 9:23 pm and is filed under Colon Surgery South Florida, Gall Bladder Surgery, Minimally Invasive Florida Doctors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.