Gallbladder surgery is necessary for patients who have gallstones or if the gallbladder has stopped functioning. Surgeons perform gallbladder surgery--called cholecystectomy in the medical field--using either a laparoscopic or an open approach, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. In a laparoscopic procedure, several small incisions allow the surgeon to extract the gallbladder, while in an open gallbladder removal, the surgeon makes a single large incision--about four to eight inches long--in order to extract the gallbladder.
Pain and Nausea
Pain in the abdomen is common after both types of gallbladder extraction surgery. Internal pain from the gallbladder being removed as well as external pain at the site of the incisions are expected for at least several days to a week. The site of the incisions also may feel tight and cause discomfort. After a laparoscopic procedure, the patient may experience pain in the shoulder as gas settles before dispersing out of the body, according to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The surgeon uses gas during the laparoscopic procedure to raise the abdomen, and this gas may not dissipate for several hours. Both the anesthesia from the surgery and the pain medication prescribed for the patient to take after the surgery may cause nausea.
Diarrhea or Constipation
During the healing period after a gallbladder removal surgery, constipation or diarrhea is possible.The digestive system of the patient is altered after the gallbladder removal, with the liver dumping bile directly into the intestines, instead of allowing the gallbladder to store the bile.The digestion of some patients is affected by this change in bile distribution, resulting in quicker digestion immediately following the surgery. The surgeon will recommend a liquid diet or soft, bland foods to aid changes in digestion. Diarrhea may only last for several days following the surgery, and the patient may experience occasional diarrhea after ingesting fatty foods later in life. The cause for chronic diarrhea after gallbladder removal is unknown, though some experts believe that the chronic diarrhea is caused by bile directly entering the intestine and resulting in a laxative effect, according to Michael Picco, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist.
Pain medication taken after the surgery can constipate some patients. Following the surgeon's discharge and healing instructions can help the patient to avoid or lessen diarrhea or constipation after the gallbladder extraction. The surgeon may recommend adding fiber rich foods or a fiber supplement to the patient's post-surgery diet to help with constipation.
Scarring
One or several scars will be present on the patient's abdomen after gallbladder surgery. In an open removal of the gallbladder, the scar is large due to the length of the incision. In laparoscopic removal, the scars are about an inch in length and are located in the top half of the navel, and on the right side of the body, above the hipbone and below the rib cage. If the patient is prone to keloids, which are generally a hereditary condition, the scars may be larger than usual. Keloids are scar tissue that occur at the site where the skin is injured, such as a gallbladder removal surgery scar. After a gallbladder removal surgery, patients prone to keloids may experience the excessive scar tissue forming on and around the surgical scars in a flesh tone, pink or red color, according to the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center College of Medicine.
