Gallbladder Surgery
Gallbladder Surgery Specialist
The intense pain of gallbladder disease is often due to gallstones blocking the bile ducts and causing infections. If you’re experiencing gallbladder pain or have a condition like gallbladder cancer, highly skilled surgeon Jacob Rinker, MD, FACS, and his team at Wyoming Medical Associates can help. They perform expert gallbladder surgery, including minimally invasive gallbladder removal, at their locations in Gillette and Casper, Wyoming. Call the office nearest you to find out more or book an appointment online today.
Gallbladder Surgery Q & A
Why would I need gallbladder surgery?
You might benefit from gallbladder surgery if you have a gallbladder condition that seriously affects your health but isn’t treatable using more conservative measures.
Gallbladder diseases that may require surgery include:
- Gallstones
- Sclerosing cholangitis
- Gallbladder polyps
- Gallbladder cancer
- Gangrene of the gallbladder
- Abscess of the gallbladder
- Acalculous gallbladder disease
- Biliary dyskinesia
Gallbladder disease can cause severe pain and may be an emergency if a blocked bile duct becomes infected.
The team at Wyoming Medical Associates might use ultrasound, elastography, a HIDA scan, or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to diagnose your gallbladder disease and determine an appropriate treatment plan.
How is gallbladder disease treated?
Gallstones are more likely to form if you’re overweight or obese or have a chronic medical condition like diabetes, so weight loss and eating a healthier diet may be enough to manage the disorder.
If your gallbladder and bile ducts become severely inflamed, painful, or infected, or if you have gallbladder cancer, surgery is often the best treatment.
What does gallbladder surgery involve?
There are two approaches to gallbladder surgery. One is to make a large incision that gives the Wyoming Medical Associates team direct access to the gallbladder, an approach that might be necessary if you’re obese or have a bleeding disorder.
In most cases, the team uses minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques to perform gallbladder surgery. They use an instrument called a laparoscope, which is a flexible tube that fits into a very small incision in your abdomen.
The laparoscope has a camera on it that sends back images to a screen, which the surgical team uses to see your gallbladder. Using the screen to guide them, they insert laparoscopic instruments into other small incisions and cut the tissues that hold your gallbladder in place.
The Wyoming Medical Associates team can often perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal surgery) on an outpatient basis.
Symptoms of Gallbladder Issues
- Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the upper right portion of your abdomen.
- Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the center of your abdomen, just below your breastbone.
- Back pain between your shoulder blades.
- Pain in your right shoulder.
- Nausea or vomiting.
Is gallbladder surgery safe?
It’s safe to have your gallbladder out, as it isn’t an essential organ. Your liver still produces bile that reaches your small intestine, so removing your gallbladder doesn’t have any serious impact on your health.
Gallbladder surgery is a very safe and successful procedure. It’s one of the most common operations, with very few adverse effects reported.
Find out more about gallbladder surgery or schedule a consultation with the surgical team by calling Wyoming Medical Associates or booking an appointment online today.