Centre For Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery

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Gallstones

What are gallstones?

They are 'stones' that form within the gallbladder. They are made of a mixture of bile salts, cholesterol and calcium

Why do they form?

The gallbladder normally stores bile in the liquid form. When the gallbladder is diseased, stones are precipitated in the viscous bile and gradually increase in size

Do they need to be removed?

Yes if the stones cause symptoms. Symptoms include pain on eating, 'indigestion', fever and jaundice (yellow eyes and skin). Because stones form when the gallbladder is not functioning well, the gallbladder is removed together with the stones.

Is it alright not to have a gallbladder?

Removing the gallbladder does not lead to any serious consequence. The function of the gallbladder is to store bile. Without the gallbladder, bile is stored in the bile ducts. Removing the gallbladder does not interfere with the production of bile that occurs in the liver.

What can happen if I ignore the gallstones?

Common complications include:

1. acute infection of the gallbladder leading to severe upper abdominal pain and fever (acute cholecystitis)
2. pus formation in the gallbladder (empyema) leading to high fever and sepsis, a life threatening infection
3. jaundice when the stone block the bile duct that connects the liver to the small intestine leading to yellow eyes and skin. This may damage the liver

How is the gallbladder with gallstones removed?

We specialize in gallbladder surgery. There are 5 ways to remove the gallbladder:

1. standard 3 or 4 -incision laparoscopic surgery. One incision in the umbilicus is 1.0cm and the others 0.5cm. The procedure is known as laparoscopic cholecystectomy
2. SILS/Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery. A single 2cm incision in the umbilicus to remove the gallbladder
3. Robotic Surgery where the state-of-the-art daVinci surgical system is used. With this method, the surgeon operates in a 3-D environment with 10x magnification using computer-aided instruments that eliminates tremors
4. N.O.T.E.S/Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery. This approach uses natural orifices like the mouth, vagina or rectum to perform the operation.
5. Open surgery where the gallbladder is removed through a 15cm incision. This is the last resort

We have an experience in more than 1000 gallbladder operations using either of these approaches and will customize the best approach for the individual depending on his/her condition.

For more information please make an appointment with our hernia specialist.

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