Gallbladder surgery in our hospital is an operation performed with the latest technology tools and devices. The duration of the operation lasts between 45 minutes and 1 hour. Dec. The patient stays in our hospital for only 1 day and is discharged on an outpatient basis the next day. The recovery period continues standing up. Patients can resume their daily activities within 1 day.
The gallbladder is a pouch next to the main bile duct. Average length of 7-10 cm, 30-50 ml. an organ large enough to contain bile. However, when it is blocked, it can reach a size above that.
Therefore, taking it does not lead to a deficiency in the body, does it?
Yes, but of course, if there is a disease and it causes a problem, there is no harm in taking it. Otherwise, it is not removed from the body because some organs do not work out of the blue. There are also other organs, such as the gallbladder, such as the appendix.
How are gallstones formed?
Bile is a complex chemical structure. There are dozens of substances in it. In particular, cholesterol, lecithin and bile salts should be in a certain proportion so that this chemical mixture in it exists in liquid form. If the proportions between Decitine, cholesterol and bile salts change, the liquid becomes solid. This does not happen in bile flowing through normal bile ducts because it does not have a stationary structure. But when this ratio is disrupted in the bile stored in the gallbladder, small small deposits begin to form. These grow over time and form stones.
Gallstones Gallstones, the frequency of which increases with age, mostly cause symptoms with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.The only treatment method for gallstones is surgical removal of the gallbladder where the stone is located.
Are there any types of gallstones?
Yes, gallstones are different. They’re not all the same type. It can be pigment stones or cholesterol stones. And these sometimes cause problems. These stones are growing day by day. The sediments on it or the transition to the solid state in the bile are increasing. It starts out small, it gets bigger and bigger over time. And sometimes it happens not one big one, but in several pieces. Even hundreds of small stones can be formed.
Is the formation of gallstones common?
It’s very common. It increases with age. Looking at all deaths, gallstones are found in 11-36 percent of them. Conditions such as obesity, pregnancy, Crohn’s disease increase the development of stones. It is especially common in people with blood diseases in which the conversion rate of red blood globules is high. Women are found three times more often than men.
Why is it more common in women?
It’s probably caused by hormones, but there’s no known cause for sure.
Does the formation of gallstones have anything to do with dietary habits or lifestyle?
There probably is. But we do not have any concrete nutritional recommendations that will prevent this. So we can’t say that if you eat this or not, you can prevent the formation of gallstones. There is no one-to-one cause-and-effect relationship, but there are probably a number of genetic and metabolic relationships. For example, some people have high cholesterol. The reason for high cholesterol is often due to genetic makeup. There are probably some relationships here as well. But we can say that it is more likely to occur in overweight people. In the same way, the formation of gallstones has nothing to do with lifestyle. In summary, there is no way to prevent the formation of gallstones by external factors. Therefore, it is also impossible to get in front of it.
What are the symptoms of gallstones?
Some of the stones that have formed in the gallbladder do not give any symptoms at all. The most important sign in those who give symptoms is pain. The pain lasts for several hours on the upper right side of the abdomen, usually severe. Sometimes it hits the back, the right shoulder. It usually starts suddenly. It has a relationship with food and often occurs after meals. There is often nausea and vomiting. These complaints can go away on their own or with medication. If the pain exceeds 24 hours, it should be considered that the blockage is permanent. In other words, one of the symptoms is that the stone in the gallbladder passes by blocking a place. Pain that does not go away may mean that the stone has blocked the entrance channel of the gallbladder. If the stone blocks the gallbladder canal, then acute cholecystitis disease occurs. 95 percent of this disease is due to gallstones. A much lower proportion may also be due to tumors. These patients have usually experienced temporary episodes of pain. In this case, there is a persistent pain on the upper right side of the abdomen, moderate or more severe. This pain also manifests itself during examinations. It is very easy to understand. Sometimes, in addition to pain, the patient has a slight fever, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. As the patient moves, the pain increases and worsens over time.
Are there any other symptoms?
Another symptom of gallstones is jaundice. Jaundice, which is seen due to gallstones, usually occurs due to the fact that the stone falls out of the gallbladder and blocks the main bile duct, bile from the liver cannot reach the intestine and accumulates in the blood. This is not very difficult to understand. The diagnosis is easily made. This type of jaundice is usually accompanied by pain. Jaundice occurs a few days after the stone clogs that area.
Also, people with gallstones have complaints related to food, the cause of which cannot be determined. In these patients, very non-specific complaints such as gas in the abdomen, discomfort after eating, mild nausea, touching food, swelling in the abdomen are also frequently observed.
What other diseases does blockage caused by gallstones lead to?
Stones found in the gallbladder and tracts are suitable structures for microbes to take hold and reproduce. For this reason, the bile of a large part of patients with stones contains microbes. While normal bile flow continues, this usually does not cause problems, but if the stone causes a blockage, these microbes can cause inflammation of the biliary tract. In other words, not only is it blocked,but the load of microbes that are already present, as well as microbes that come through the blood, cause inflammation of the biliary tract. We call this condition cholangitis. Cholangitis sometimes goes up to very severe tables. It can even cause microbe growth in the blood. It may require an emergency procedure and sometimes surgery.
How is the diagnosis of gallbladder stones that do not give symptoms made?
The presence of such stones is usually revealed by chance, with ultrasonography.
Should these stones, which do not cause any complaints, be removed?
This is a very important problem. It is necessary to discuss this with the patient. There is no information that silent gallstones cause serious problems with a high probability. There are different opinions on this issue. Their risk of causing problems is about 2 percent per year, according to several studies. So the patient said, “I have no complaints. So they can stay there for now. If it causes problems, I’ll take care of it,” he can risk future disturbances by saying. This is one of the medical approaches that can be considered correct for today. Another option is to act more aggressively, assuming that the stone may cause a serious problem at an inappropriate time, and perform the operation even if it does not cause a complaint. Both are the right approach for today. But I think surgical treatment should come to the fore a little more, especially in young people. The most important point here is that this information and risks are shared with the patient and the decision is made jointly, that is, ensuring his participation in the decision-making processes at the hospital.
What are the treatment methods?
The only treatment method for gallstones is surgical removal of the gallbladder where the stone is located. In the past, it has been tried to treat it with methods such as dissolving it with medication, breaking stones with a set of tools similar to kidney stones. But it turned out that all this did not work. Because the problem is not the destruction of the stones there. If the main mechanism is not eliminated, the stones will form again. For example, you can dissolve stones with medication, which is a laborious method- but after a few weeks, the stone forms again in the same place. The same applies when you break stones. Even broken stones are no longer applied at all because they cause bigger problems. For him, considering that these stones do not occur in the main bile ducts, but in the gallbladder, where there is stationary bile, the treatment should be to eliminate the place where the stones form. October October, if there is an additional problem, for example, if the stone has blocked the lower end of the main bile duct, then of course it is necessary to apply additional other treatments.
Does long-term neglect of the stone by not removing it lead to cancer?
There’s always that discussion. But today we still have no evidence that gallbladder cancers are caused by stones. But there is an interesting observation like this; 90 percent of patients with gallbladder cancer?a stone in the gallbladder can be seen together. But there is no definite information that a patient gets cancer because he has a stone in the gallbladder. Gallbladder cancer is rare. On the bad side, it does not give very concrete symptoms and therefore the risk of being skipped is quite high. The treatments are also not easy. It is a somewhat aggressive type of cancer.
Can the patient be operated on when it occurs during pregnancy?
If a stone in the gallbladder was detected by chance during pregnancy, it is necessary not to make any intervention during this period. But if it caused a complication, regardless of the pregnancy, it should also be treated while the pregnancy exists. This surgery can be performed even if it is during the last period of pregnancy.
Is every gallstone operated on?
Not every gallstone needs to be operated on. Silent gallstones, that is, those that do not cause complaints at all, may not be operated on if they are the patient’s choice and he can afford the risk. It can be monitored and operated on when a problem occurs.
Can gallstones be seen in children?
Yes, it can be seen even in young children, albeit at a low rate. But underneath these there is often an anatomical disorder or a blood disease. They, too, should be operated on like adults.