Gallbladder Surgery Recovery Time

The gallbladder is an organ of the human body that aids the digestive system in the breakage of food and derivation of nutrition. Among all the organs of the digestive system, the gallbladder is a non-vital organ. The human gallbladder has a simple anatomy. In the picture, you will notice that the bladder is surrounded by many other organs. On an average, it is capable of storing 50 milliliters of bile. The stored bile becomes more and more concentrated as the time passes, and is very effective in digesting fats. The gallbladder, like the other digestive system organs, is susceptible to disorders and diseases, such as gallbladder cancer, gallstones or porcelain gallbladder. In such cases, as the condition of the organ worsens, it becomes necessary to remove the gallbladder. This is where gallbladder surgery comes into picture. Gallbladder surgery is also known as a cholecystectomy.

Recovery Time for Gallbladder Surgery

When you ask your surgeon about the gallbladder surgery recovery time, a direct answer that you are likely to get is, 'till the incisions heal'.

In the initial years, that is before the 1980s, people had to undergo a very complex and painful surgery for gallbladder removal. In such a surgery, the surgeons made a large incision in the right hand side of the abdomen, for the removal of the gallbladder. The recovery time for such a surgery was very long, as the extent of the incision was large. The intestines also needed a longer time to recover as the surgery caused considerable pain, which was accompanied by abdominal inflammation. This also delayed the time before which a patient would be able to walk and get up from his bed, on his own.

The answer may sound scary but there is no need to worry, as modern surgical methods have developed a much more advanced method of gallbladder surgery, that is known as the Laparoscopic technology. In this procedure, the surgeons make very small incisions in the abdomen. Then a small camera is inserted onto the abdomen and the gallbladder is removed using very delicate and small surgical instrument. Thus, no other organ, other than the gallbladder is touched. The number of tissues that actually need to heal are very less. In fact, the relief from the gallbladder attacks and pain, helps the white blood cells to work very fast and effectively.

The time that you might need to spend in the hospital, is just a day or two. If you are not suffering from any type of ailment or disorder, such as hypertension or diabetes, you will be discharged form the hospital within one or two days. In case if you are in a very good health, then surgeons will prefer to operate during the morning, and discharging you the very next day. A friend of mine who was a soldier, was operated at about 9 am and was discharged at 8 pm the same evening.

It is necessary that you keep your cool before, during, and after the surgery. One must also note that an urge to recover is the first step to reduction of the recovery time after gallbladder surgery. There are several things that you can do to reduce the recovery period, such as, following a gallbladder surgery diet and adhering to your doctor's instructions and medication.