Gallbladder Surgery
The gallbladder is a small organ beneath the liver that stores bile, the fluid that helps digest fat. Gallstones form when substances in bile crystallise and harden.
Understanding gallstones
Gallstones are common — many people carry them for years without knowing. Problems begin when a stone blocks the gallbladder's outlet.
Symptoms to take seriously
- Pain in the upper right abdomen, often beginning after a fatty meal
- Pain that radiates to the right shoulder blade or the back
- Attacks lasting from thirty minutes to several hours
- Nausea, vomiting, bloating, or intolerance of fatty food
When to seek urgent care
Seek urgent care if you have: severe pain lasting more than a few hours, fever with chills, yellowing of the skin or eyes, or dark urine with pale stools. These suggest inflammation or a blocked bile duct and need immediate assessment.
When surgery is recommended
Gallstones that cause symptoms tend to keep causing them, and each episode carries a risk of a more serious complication. For this reason, surgical removal of the gallbladder is the standard treatment once attacks begin. Stones discovered incidentally, causing no symptoms, often do not require surgery at all — and Dr. Younes will tell you so.
The operation
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is performed through several incisions of roughly half a centimetre to one centimetre, using a camera and fine instruments. Compared with open surgery it means less pain afterwards, a shorter hospital stay, and a faster return to normal life.
Most patients go home the same day or after one night. Light activity resumes within a few days; full activity typically within one to two weeks.
Living without a gallbladder
The gallbladder stores bile but does not produce it. After removal, bile flows directly from the liver to the intestine and digestion continues normally. Most patients eat without restriction after a short adjustment period.
Sudden, severe pain low on the right side of the abdomen is more likely to be appendicitis than gallbladder disease. Read about appendicitis →
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