Cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) - Healthdirect

A cholecystectomy is surgery to remove the gallbladder. It is usually done using keyhole surgery, when a tiny video camera and surgical equipment are ... Onthispage Whatisacholecystectomy? Whyisacholecystectomyprocedureperformed? HowdoIpreparefortheprocedure? Whathappensduringtheprocedure? WhatcanIexpectaftertheprocedure? Whataretherisksofacholecystectomy? RelatedinformationonAustralianwebsites Whatisacholecystectomy? Acholecystectomyissurgerytoremovethegallbladder.Itisusuallydoneusingkeyholesurgery,whenatinyvideocameraandsurgicalequipmentareinsertedthrough4smallcutsintheabdomen. Whyisacholecystectomyprocedureperformed? Thegallbladderisasmallorganthatsitsjustbelowtheliverontherightsideofyourabdomen.Itcollectsandstoresbilefromyourliver,whichisusedbytheguttohelpdigestfood. Sometimesthegallbladderbecomesblockedwithgallstonesthatcancausepain,bloating,nauseaandvomiting.Othercomplicationscanalsooccur,includinginflammationofthegallbladder,inflammationofthepancreas,jaundiceandinfection. Inthesecases,acholecystectomyisperformedundergeneralanaesthetictoremovethegallbladder. Sometimes,gallstonescanmoveintoyourcommonbileduct.Bileductsare'pipes'thatcarrybilefromthelivertothegallbladderandfromthegallbladdertothesmallintestine.Acholecystectomyandexplorationofthebileductisaproceduretoremoveyourgallbladderaswellasanystonesfoundinyourcommonbileduct. HowdoIpreparefortheprocedure? Ifyouneedtohaveacholecystectomy,youwillbeaskedtoeatnothingthenightbeforethesurgery.Ifyouneedtotakemedications,youmayhaveasipofwater.Youshouldhavenothingatall4hoursbeforethesurgery. Yoursurgeonwilldiscusswithyouwhethertostoptakinganymedicinesorsupplements.Makesureyoufollowalltheinstructionsfromyourdoctor. Manypeoplegohomethesamedayastheoperation,butyoumayneedtostayinhospital.Makesureyouarrangeforsomeonetobewithyouafterthesurgerybecausetheanaestheticwillmakeyoudrowsy. Whathappensduringtheprocedure? Mostcholecystectomiesareperformedlaparoscopically,whichmeanstheyusekeyholesurgery.Thesurgeonwillmake4smallcuts(incisions)inyourabdomensotheycanintroduceapieceofequipmentknownasalaparoscopictelescopethroughoneoftheincisions.Thiswillallowthemtoseeinsideyourabdomen. Theywillthenpassmetaltubesthroughtheotherincisions.Thesurgeonwillputcarbondioxideinsideyoutoliftthewalloftheabdomenawayfromtheorgans.Theywillthenusesurgicalclipstocloseofftheductsandarteriesleadingtothegallbladderandremovethegallbladderwithinstrumentsinsertedthroughthetubes. Afterthegallbladderhasbeenremoved,thecarbondioxideisallowedtoescapebeforetheincisionsarestitchedorclosedwithstaples.Theclipswillstayinsideyou. Ifyourgallbladderisveryinflamedyoumayneed'opencholecystectomy',whichrequiresalargercutinyourupperabdomen. WhatcanIexpectaftertheprocedure? Youwillbemonitoredinrecoveryforsometimeandwillnormallybeabletogohomewithin24hours.Youmayhavesomesideeffectsfromthegeneralanaestheticsuchasaheadache,nauseaorvomiting,whichcanbecontrolledwithmedicine. Youwillhavesomepaininyourabdomenaftertheoperation,whichcanbecontrolledusingpainrelief.Youmayalsohavesomepaininyourshoulderfromthegasusedintheoperation,whichcanbeeasedwithwalking. Youwillhaveadripinyourarmatfirst,whichwillberemovedaftertheanaestheticwearsoff.Youcantakesipsofwateratfirstthenslowlygetbacktoeatinganddrinkingnormally. Anatomyoftheliverandgallbladder Yourwoundswillhaveclipsorstitchesandyoumayalsohaveadraininyoursidetoallowfluidtoleaveyourbody.Thisisusuallyremovedthenextday.Makesureyoukeepyourwoundsclean. Youwillbetiredatfirst.Donotdriveforthefirst7days,smokeorliftheavyweights.Youcanexpecttorecoverfullyandreturntoyournormalactivitieswithin2weeks. Contactyourdoctorimmediatelyifyouhave: alotofdischargefromthewounds afever painthatcan'tbecontrolledbypainreliefmedicine swelling,tendernessorrednessintheabdomen yelloweyesorskin Whataretherisksofacholecystectomy? Acholecystectomyisaverysafeprocedure.Aswithallsurgery,however,thereisaverysmallriskofcomplications,whichinclude: leakingbile bleeding bloodclots heartproblems infection injuryofotherorgans pancreatitis pneumonia Learnmorehereaboutthedevelopmentandqualityassuranceofhealthdirectcontent. Lastreviewed:April2021 BackToTop Relatedpages Cholecystectomyandexplorationofthebileduct Laparoscopiccholecystectomy Opencholecystectomy Searchoursitefor Gallstones Gallbladder Generalsearchresults Resultsformedicalprofessionals Topresults Gallbladder-gallstonesandsurgery-BetterHealthChannel betterhealth.vic.gov.au ReadmoreonBetterHealthChannelwebsite Gallstones:symptoms,causes,complicationsandtreatment Themostcommonsymptomofgallstonesisrecurrentattacksofpainintheupperabdomenortheback,knownasbiliarycolic. ReadmoreonmyDrwebsite Cholecystitis(gallbladderinflammation)|HealthEngineBlog Cholecystitisreferstoinflammationofthegallbladder.Itistypicallyacomplicationofgallstones,aconditionwhichaffects10-20%ofpeople. ReadmoreonHealthEnginewebsite ERCPforpancreaticandbiliarydiseaseinformation|myVMC ERCP(endoscopicretrogradecholangiopancreatography)isaprocedureforviewingfromthemouthtotheduodenumtodiagnosepancreaticorbilliarydisease. ReadmoreonmyVMC–VirtualMedicalCentrewebsite Gallbladdercancer|CancerCouncil Learnaboutthesymptoms,causesandtreatmentoptionsforgallbladdercancer-ararecancerthatoccurswhencellsinthegallbladderbecomeabnormal ReadmoreonCancerCouncilAustraliawebsite Laparoscopy-MyDr.com.au Laparoscopyisaprocedurethatcanbeusedtoinvestigateandtreatavarietyofconditions.Alaparoscopeisusedtoviewinsidetheabdomenorpelvis. ReadmoreonmyDrwebsite Showmore Topresults Showmore HealthdirectAustraliaisnotresponsibleforthecontentandadvertisingontheexternalwebsiteyouarenowentering. Relatedpages Cholecystectomyandexplorationofthebileduct Laparoscopiccholecystectomy Opencholecystectomy Searchoursitefor Gallstones Gallbladder Symptomchecker Worriedaboutyourhealth?Selectasymptom,answersomequestions,getadvice. StartYourSymptomCheck servicecategory Findahealthservice Pleaseenterasuburborpostcodeofyourlocationandselectfromthelist. Unabletofindyourlocation.Pleaseentermanuallybelow. Locationnotfound. GP(Generalpractice) Pharmacy EmergencyDepartments Hospitals Needmoreservices? enteralocation Pleaseenterasuburborpostcodeofyourlocationandselectfromthelist. Unabletofindyourlocation.Pleaseentermanuallybelow. Locationnotfound. Enteralocation {{prefLabel}} Usecurrentlocation Search Checkyoursymptoms Findahealthservice Healthdirect24hr7daysaweekhotline 24hourhealthadviceyoucancounton 1800022222 GovernmentAccreditedwithover140informationpartners Weareagovernment-fundedservice,providingquality,approvedhealthinformationandadvice Supportforthisbrowserisbeingdiscontinuedforthissite InternetExplorer11andlower WecurrentlysupportMicrosoftEdge,Chrome,FirefoxandSafari.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitthelinksbelow: ChromebyGoogle FirefoxbyMozilla MicrosoftEdge SafaribyApple Youarewelcometocontinuebrowsingthissitewiththisbrowser.Somefeatures,toolsorinteractionmaynotworkcorrectly.