SILS Cholecystectomy
The gallbladder, a small pear-shaped organ located under the liver in the upper right section of your abdomen, stores bile, a combination of fluids, fat, and cholesterol. Bile aids in digesting dietary fats in the intestine and helps fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients to be more easily absorbed into the bloodstream.
What is the Gall Bladder?
Inflammation
Gallstones
Common Bile Duct Stones (Choledocholithiasis)
Common Bile Duct Infection
Abscess of the Gallbladder
Gallstone Ileus
Perforated Gallbladder
Gallbladder Polyps
Porcelaini Gallbladders
Gallbladder Cancer
What are Gall Bladder problems / disease / illnesses?
Sign & Symptoms
-
Pain
-
Nausea or Vomiting
-
Fever or Chills
-
Chronic Diarrhea
-
Jaundice
-
Unusual Stools or Urine
Diagnosis
The appendix is a narrow, small, finger-shaped portion of the large intestine that generally hangs down from (within) the lower right side of the abdomen
Appendicitis is a sudden inflammation of the appendix. Although the appendix does not seem to serve any purpose, it can become diseased and, if untreated, can rupture, causing infection and even death.
Gallbladder Health
Liver function tests (LFTs), which are blood tests that can show evidence of gallbladder disease.
Pancreas Check
A check of the blood's amylase or lipase levels to look for inflammation of the pancreas. Amylase and lipase are enzymes (digestive chemicals) produced in the pancreas.
Gallbladder Imaging: Abdominal X-Ray
An abdominal X-ray, which may show evidence of gallbladder disease, such as gallstones.
Blood Cell Assessment
A complete blood count (CBC), which looks at levels of different types of blood cells such as white blood cells. A high white blood cell count may indicate infection.
Intra-Abdominal Ultrasound
The use of ultrasound testing which uses sound waves to image and make a picture of the intra-abdominal organs including the gallbladder.
Robotic Abdominal CT Scan
A computed tomography (CT) scan constructs a detailed X-ray images of the abdominal organs.
Gallbladder Function Test: HIDA Scan
A HIDA scan. In this test, a radioactive material called hydroxy iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) is injected into the patient. The radioactive material is taken up by the gallbladder to measure gallbladder emptying function. This test also is referred to as cholescintigraphy.
Detailed Imaging: MRCP (MRI)
Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), which uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to produce detailed picture
Duct Evaluation: ERCP Procedure
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a procedure in which a tube is placed down the patient's throat, into the stomach, then into the small intestine. Dye is injected and the ducts of the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas can be seen on X-ray.
In rare cases, appendicitis may get better without surgery. Treatment might involve only antibiotics and a liquid diet. In most cases, however, surgery will be necessary.
The type of surgery will depend on the details of your case. If you have an abscess that hasn’t ruptured, you may receive antibiotics first. Your doctor will then drain your abscess using a tube placed through your skin. Surgery will remove your appendix after you’ve received treatment for the infection.
If you have a ruptured abscess or appendix, surgery may be necessary right away. Surgery to remove the appendix is known as an appendectomy. A doctor can perform this procedure as open surgery or through a laparoscopy.
Treatment Options
Treatment for appendicitis varies.
Conventional Medicine for Gallstones
When deciding what course of action to take for symptomatic gallstones, doctors usually choose from among three main treatment options: Watchful waiting, nonsurgical therapy, and surgical removal of the gallbladder.
Gallstones and Watchful Waiting
Though a gallstone episode can be extremely painful or frightening, almost a third to half of all people who experience an attack never have a recurrence. In some cases, the stone dissolves or becomes dislodged and thereby resumes its "silence." Because the problem may solve itself without intervention, many doctors take a wait-and-see approach following the initial episode.
Even when the patient has had repeated gallstone episodes, the doctor may postpone treatment or surgery because of other health concerns. If your surgery has been delayed, you should remain under a doctor's care and report any recurrences of gallstone symptoms immediately.
Nonsurgical Therapy for Gallstones
If you are unable or unwilling to go through surgery for a gallstone problem that requires treatment, your doctor may recommend one of several noninvasive techniques. Note that though these methods may destroy symptom-causing gallstones, they can do nothing to prevent others from forming, and recurrence is common.
Some gallstones can be dissolved through the use of a bile salt, although the procedure can be used only with stones formed from cholesterol and not from bile pigments. Medication can be taken too; depending on its size, the gallstone may take months or even years to go away, and often people need to take this medication indefinitely.
Another nonsurgical technique, shock wave therapy, uses high-frequency sound waves to fragment the stones. Bile salt is administered afterward to dissolve small pieces.
Doctors can also attempt to remove gallstones during an ERCP. During the procedure an instrument is inserted through the endoscope to attempt removal of the stone.
While these therapies may work for some, all of the above nonsurgical therapies are usually unsuccessful long term (since recurrence is common) and are rarely advised in clinical practice.
Surgery to Remove the Gallbladder
While the gallbladder serves an important function, it is not essential for a normal, healthy life. When gallstones are persistently troublesome, doctors often recommend removing the organ entirely. This operation is considered among the safest of all surgical procedures. Each year approximately 750,000 Americans have their gallbladder removed. It is also the only treatment method that eliminates the possibility that other gallstones will develop in the future.
When the gallbladder has been removed, bile flows directly from the liver into the small intestine, and this sometimes leads to diarrhea. Because bile no longer accumulates in the gallbladder, quantities of the digestive fluid cannot be stored up and used to break down an especially fatty meal. This condition is not considered serious, however, and can be corrected by simply limiting fat in the diet.
In the past, removal of the gallbladder was done through traditional "open" surgery, which requires surgeons to make a large incision in the abdomen. Patients faced a two- or three-day hospital stay plus several weeks of recovery at home.
Today, however, the most commonly used surgical technique is a much simpler approach known as laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
The most recent and least invasive technique is the Single Incision Laparoscopic (SILS) Cholecystectomy. In this technique pain is least as surgery is preformed through a single, small key hole-sized cut and there are no obvious scars, as the incision is made within the belly button. Benefits include:
-
Better cosmesis with no externally visible scar
-
Earlier return to activities of daily living
-
Earlier return to work
-
1 incision instead of 4 hence, less pain
-
1 incision instead of 4 hence, less risk of related complications
