Gall Bladder Stone Surgery Using Minimally Invasive Methods

By Medical Expert Team

Oct 20 , 2015 | 1 min read

Advancing with time

New advanced stitch-less and scar-less surgery methods are available to patients who require gall bladder surgery

Gall bladder is a small organ, located below the liver and its only function is to release bile (fluid) which helps in digestion and is secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. The most common problem associated with gall bladder is the formation of stones, the size of these may vary from small grains to very large stones. The complications of gall stones includes empyema (acute inflammation associated with pus filled gallbladder), obstructed jaundice (stone slipped in the common bile duct) and acute pancreatitis.

SYMPTOMS OF GALL STONES

Severe upper abdominal pain
Chronic diarrhoea
Pain extending to right shoulder blade or back
Heart burn
Vomiting, nausea and fullness
Chest pain
Jaundice

Many gallstones may show no symptoms but are detected on an ultrasound done for some other disease.

TREATMENTS OF GALL STONES

The choice for gall bladder stone treatment is surgical removal of gall bladder. The removal of gallbladder has no adverse effect on body and it requires no dietary changes.

TYPE OF GALL BLADDER SURGERIES

Open/ Conventional: Before laparoscopic surgery came in, gall bladder surgery required a long transverse incision in upper right abdomen. Patient was required to stay in hospital for 4 to 5 days.

Laparoscopic: Laparoscopic Chole is now the gold standard for treatment of gall stones and one of the common laparoscopic operation done in the world. It requires four incisions, two of which are 10 milimetre and two are of five milimetre. After inflating the abdomen with carbon dioxide gas, the surgery is completed using laparoscopic instruments.

Single incision laparoscopic surgery: A single incision of two centimetres is given in the navel and through which three ports of five milimetre size are placed. The surgery is technically challenging and reserved for "simple gall bladder".

Mini Laparoscopic: As compared to Laparoscopic Chole, the mini laparoscopy has distinctive advantages like decreased post operative pain, scar less, stitch less and shorter hospital stay. The procedure can also be performed as a day care procedure.