Gallbladder surgeries

The main function of the gallbladder is to store bile. Bile is secreted when we eat fatty foods. If the gallbladder is removed, the liver takes over this function.

Gallbladder surgery is a critical treatment for such conditions as cholecystitis, stones, blockage of the bile ducts, pancreatitis, and cholesterol disease.

If the gallbladder ceases to function normally or the disease is not amenable to medication treatment, you can not do without surgical intervention. Typically, when cholelithiasis or chronic cholecystitis occurs, surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystostomy) is resorted. 

Modern surgeons practice two ways of gallbladder surgery:

• Open cholecystectomy, a procedure that is performed through a long incision of the external tissues. This method is resorted in case of severe inflammation of the bile or stones. 
• Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a more delicate procedure in which instruments are placed into the abdominal cavity through small openings. This method minimizes the possibility of inflammation or infection.

However, it is not always acceptable to remove the gallbladder. Sometimes the risk to the patient’s health is too great, and therefore cholecystectomy is not possible. In such situations, cholecystostomy is prescribed. It is the creation of an artificial opening in the gallbladder. The so-called stoma makes it possible to place a catheter. The procedure is necessary to allow gallbladder fluids (including bile) to be safely removed from the organ.

A stoma is usually a temporary solution to relieve the patient of the acute problem for only a certain period of time. When the patient’s health improves, the catheter is removed and the gallbladder is removed.