Gall bladder surgery

[Karen G]

My husband will probably have his gall bladder removed this weekend. Any words of wisdom from anyone who has "been there, done that"?

 

[Fern Modena]

What hospital? St. Rose Siena? Dr. Chong? He's wonderful. They say he has "gifted hands," and I agree. He just did a small surgery on me, and it couldn't have been smoother.

Jerry had his out years ago, and he can eat just about anything. He was over 50 when he had it done.

If you need anything, just call, OK?

Fern

 

[Karen G]

Thanks, Fern. Yes, it's St. Rose Siena. I don't know the surgeon's name as he came to see John in the hospital after I had already gone home, but he said he liked him a lot.

That's encouraging that Jerry can eat anything he wants to after having had the surgery.

 

[shmoore]

I, too, had galll bladder surgery and am now able to eat anything that I want. However, that is not always the case. Do like we did for our kids, add back a little of one food at a time....start bland. That way, he will know what causes the problem if he has any. One of my friends still has to be very careful what she eats or she gets sick. I hope he will be as lucky as me. My recovery time was very short.

Sandy

 

[AwayWeGo]

Go Laparoscopic.

My husband will probably have his gall bladder removed this weekend. Any words of wisdom from anyone who has "been there, done that"?

Shux, it was an out-patient procedure when The Chief Of Staff had hers out laparoscopically a few years ago -- 23 hours hospital time, then out the door.

Quick recovery.

Piece of cake.

(Easy for me to say. They didn't take out my gall bladder.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Rose Pink]

Recovery time will depend on many factors not the least of which is how sick or healthy the patient is going into the surgery. If you have been ill for a very long time and are debilitated and malnourished, recovery will take longer.

The operation used to be an in-patient procedure with hospital stays lasting about three days if there were no complications. Now, with laparoscopic procedures, it is an out-patient surgery and many people are back at work within a couple of days.

Best of luck.

 

[Zac495]

My thoughts are with you guys! Get better so you can get out and timeshare again soon.

 

[Fern Modena]

I spoke to Karen last night, and her husband is indeed at St. Rose Siena. It is the only hospital I know of that has "Strip Views" in many of their rooms. It was night when Karen's husband was admitted, so she isn't sure if his does or not.

Fern

 

[Karen G]

It is the only hospital I know of that has "Strip Views" in many of their rooms.

He actually has a partial Strip view--from the Wynn to the Stratosphere. There's also a beautiful garden with a gazebo, small waterfall, and little stream below his room. It's really a beautiful hospital with a caring staff.

There's a problem with a blockage in the bile duct from the liver so that has to be removed before they remove the gallbladder. Surgery may not be until Monday with some other tests being done tomorrow. The surgeon is hoping he can do it laparoscopically.

 

[shmoore]

Karen, I had the blockage too but ,they didn't find mine until they did the gall bladder surgery. I had one surgery one day and one the next. They had to do less cutting that way. It was still a piece of cake for me........until......I drank some salty chicken broth before I left the hospital. My stomach was upset for a day or two, but the pain was minimal from the surgeries. Recovery was very fast.

 

[Karen G]

Karen, I had the blockage too but ,they didn't find mine until they did the gall bladder surgery.

When they got rid of the blockage, did they do it with an endoscopic procedure? That's what they tried to do today for my husband, but they were unable to accomplish it.

 

[SallyMagoo]

I had the laparscopic procedure to have my gall bladder out last year, and it was so easy! The first few hours after the procedure was the worst--the anesthesia made me sick to my stomach and I didn't feel so good when I got home. I used the prescribed pain killer to help me get to sleep that night, and again the next morning so I could sleep. By afternoon of the next day, I went out shopping for an hour or so, and was good to go back to work a few days after the procedure.

Sally

 

[pwrshift]

I had my gallbladder out in 2005 and found that recovery was slower than for my splenectomy back in 1997 ... age does seem to make a difference in recovery time...both were lap operations so no big cuts. Never had any 'food' problems after the operation or since...other than no will-power.

Brian

 

[silvib]

I went for one of those preventative medicine screenings where they do 4 or 5 tests, a couple of years' ago. When the results came in, it made mention of "gall bladder removed". I've never had it removed, can we be born without one? That's the first time anyone had made any comment about it and I've had surgery in the past but no close to that area.

 

[Kay H]

I doubt that you were born without a gallbladder. My guess is that either the gallbladder was not visualized for some reason or the person who interpreted the test results made an error.(Don't think that can't happen).

I don't know what kind of tests you had but "human error" is the most likely cause.

 

[Lawlar]

I Did It

I had my gall bladder removed about ten years ago. Recovery time is about a week or so - but I don't think older (over 30) patients will be back to full energy for at least six months.

I recommend a low fat diet for those who have had their gall bladder removed.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Mystery Gall Stone.

The Chief Of Staff had a chest X-ray done for some reason. (It came out clear & she's OK.) But down in the lower corner of the film was the image of some mystery artifact.

"Hey. What's that?" The Chief Of Staff said. (She likes to look at her own films.)

"Hmmm. I don't know." the doctor said. "Looks like a gall stone."

So she went to the appropriate specialist, who X-rayed her all over again, & sure enough, it was a gall stone.

So she had laparoscopic surgery to get her gall bladder out preemptively before she suffered a gall stone attack.

Better safe than sorry, eh ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[maddaug]

Been there, done that. 2 week recovery.
I was a little sore but other than that it was not as bad as I had expected.
Best of luck to him. Prayers for a speedy recovery.

 

[silvib]

The tests were done by one of a company that visits our town about twice a year, similar to LifeLine Screening, but it wasn't them. I know my DH didn't feel inspired with their equipment. I must admit I was surprised at their wording "removed" as opposed to not visible.
Thanks.

I doubt that you were born without a gallbladder. My guess is that either the gallbladder was not visualized for some reason or the person who interpreted the test results made an error.(Don't think that can't happen).

I don't know what kind of tests you had but "human error" is the most likely cause.

 

[tlwmkw]

Wear sea-bands

They help to reduce the post surgery nausea. Had it done via laparoscope and used the sea-bands. Usually have lots of nausea but did much better with this as a result (and it's known to be a bad surgery for nausea because they mess around in the bowel area).

Good luck! tlwmkw

 

[Karen G]

I really do appreciate everyone's input. They still haven't been able to dislodge the blockage. They're going to try again with the endoscopic procedure tomorrow. I'd really appreciate prayer that it will be successful.