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“I
really like Dr. Larson. My wife and I have both been his patients. He
explains every-thing and always answers our questions.
You’ve got to have faith in your doctor and we certainly
have faith in
Dr.
Larson.”
—Fred
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The gallbladder is an oval-shaped organ 3
- 4 inches long in the upper right abdomen attached to the underside of
the liver. Its main function is to concentrate and store bile, a green
liquid made in the liver that helps digest fatty foods. The gallbladder
is connected to the bile duct that courses between the liver and the
small intestine. After eating, the gallbladder contracts and
squeezes bile through the duct into the intestine.
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Inflammation of the gallbladder is termed
cholecystitis. Often (but not always), the cause of cholecystitis is
gallstones, formed through the precipitation of bile in the gallbladder.
The symptoms of cholecystitis can range from nausea, to abdominal pain, to life-threatening infection. These
symptoms usually start slowly and progress over weeks to months to
years, and can be difficult to distinguish from other diseases,
including heart attacks. Gallbladder pain is often present in the upper
abdomen after eating, and most commonly fatty or spicy foods initiate
the attacks.
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The main treatment of cholecystitis is a
cholecystectomy, the removal of the gallbladder. This is one of the most
common operations surgeons perform, taking 30 - 60 minutes, and can
sometimes be accomplished as an outpatient. The entire organ must be
removed, and not just the stones. A laparoscopic technique with four
small incisions is used over 95% of the time—usually only extreme
conditions, such as gangrene of the gallbladder, would require an open
technique. In my experience of performing over 2,000 laparoscopic
cholecystectomies, I find it increasingly rare that an open technique is
needed.
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| Laparoscopic cholecystectomies are usually
very safe, and often cause only minimal stress to the patient. They have
successfully been performed in patients with severe heart and lung
disease. Most patients can go home the day of, or the day after surgery,
and most will be back at their regular jobs within
a week. The absence of a gallbladder after the operation typically causes
no problems whatsoever. |
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