Advances in surgical procedures that are designed to make the surgical intervention as minimally invasive as possible have been growing by leaps and bounds for decades. In New York City, back in the sixties; American football quarterback Joe Namath was famous for the large scars on his knees that resulted from having surgery on his ACL. Nowadays, surgical procedures can be done with hardly any cutting of the skin due to these advances.
Less scarring and much less recovery time are the goals of minimally invasive surgery. A common type of minimally invasive surgery that many people undergo is the removal of their gall bladder.
Purpose of the Gall Bladder
The gall bladder holds bile for you to aid the small intestine to digest fats in your diet and it is conducted from the gall bladder to the intestine by the common bile duct. The duct itself can hold a certain amount of bile so removal of the gall bladder doesn’t impact your digestion of fats to a great extent.
Issues with the Gall Bladder
If removal is recommended due to gall stones or another problem, the minimally invasive surgery called laparoscopic cholecystectomy is performed. It involves very small incisions in the navel and other areas of the abdomen to allow small ports to enter into the abdomen and send in a tiny camera with lights to allow the surgeon to see the area he will be working on. The gall bladder is removed from attachments to the liver and bile duct and taken out through the ports in pieces.
Only two percent of these surgeries have complications but sometimes things are not done properly and the common bile duct may be compromised. Sometimes it’s possible that the gall stones in the duct were not looked for or seen and these can cause problems. The removal of the gall bladder may be minimally invasive but it has sometimes led to an injury to the duct causing strictures that lead to pancreatitis and further surgery may be indicated.
