Gallbladder and Bile Tract Surgery

Bile produced by the liver is accumulated in the gallbladder. When food is taken, it is transferred to the duodenum through bile for digestion. Bile sludge and stones form as a result of the precipitation of salts and minerals in the bile for some reasons.

Its formation is affected by genetic factors, age, female gender, and multiple births. The most common problems caused by the gallbladder are "Biliary Colic", which is accompanied by periodic pain attacks, and inflamed gallbladder, which we call "Acute Stony Bladder", accompanied by sudden onset and continuous pain, fever and chills.

The gold standard approach in treatment is to remove the gallbladder with a closed surgery method called laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Since breaking stones in the gallbladder, such as kidney stones, creates more serious problems, this method is not applied because the broken stones fall into the bile duct, causing more serious problems such as severe jaundice, pancreatitis and biliary tract inflammations called cholangitis.

In our clinic, a scarless closed surgery called "Modified Bikini Line Cholecystectomy" is performed. The aim here is to create trocar entry points opened into the abdominal wall in closed surgery at the bikini line and to ensure that the scars remain under the bikini line. In this way, there will be no visible wound in the abdominal area. This method provides a serious advantage in terms of cosmetics.

Gallbladder surgeries are performed on average in 1 hour, and patients only need to stay in bed for 1 day. The pain is quite minimal. Patients walk after 6 hours and are fed. One of the most common mistakes made after gallbladder surgery is restrictions on eating and drinking. Contrary to popular belief, patients can eat eggs and consume any food they want without any restrictions after the surgery. These limitations only exist for patients who have not had surgery. Since the problem is solved radically after the surgery, these limitations are naturally meaningless.

One issue is the number and shape of stones in the gallbladder, which is always a matter of curiosity. There are minerals called bile salts in the gallbladder, and the colors, shapes and numbers of stones vary depending on which of these minerals precipitates. There may be one stone in the gallbladder or hundreds of stones may form.

The number and size of stones are not very important in the treatment decision. In the presence of a stone, the only solution is surgery. If the stones are small, they pose a risk of falling into the canal. In this respect, contrary to popular belief, the presence of small stones is even more dangerous.

A problem caused by gallstones is the stones falling into the bile duct, and this is a very serious situation for patients. Since the end part of the bile duct opening into the duodenum is congenitally narrow, stones that fall out can get stuck in this part and cause serious problems such as jaundice, pancreatitis and cholangitis. In this case, patients must urgently undergo a procedure called ERCP and clean the stones and sludge in the bile duct.