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#Post#: 19566--------------------------------------------------
Hi everyone again
By: SHL Date: October 31, 2019, 10:41 am
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Hello folks,
I went to my appointment with my gallbladder surgeon yesterday
and, although he said my abdominal ultrasound looked pretty
benign, so was up to me whether to have my gallbladder out. He
said it was more elective surgery in my case. He said it was
only because of the gallstones that he’d do it, and he would
lean slightly in favor of doing it because I’ve already had two
biliary colic attacks in the past. He explained that that’s
probably because he’s a surgeon, and surgeons tend to lean in
favor of surgery anyway. A GP or Internist would likely
disagree, as they tend to be more conservative about advising
surgery on anything unless absolutely necessary.
I said „well the gallbladder is just a useless body part anyway“
and he said „no it isn’t. All body parts are useful. You don’t
operate and remove anything unless you have a medical reason“.
So I told him I like to go to Europe every year, usually
Germany, and I wanted to visit Prague and would hate to have a
gallbladder attack in Prague and end up in a Prague emergency
room and have to have my gallbladder out over there (even though
my insurance would pay for it anywhere in Europe, and I’m sure
Czech surgeons are world class- definitely as good as what we’ve
got here).
So I booked my surgery for 27 November. Wish me well. I asked
him about that adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder I have and he
said forget it. It means nothing. It’s not like that
diverticulosis you can get of the colon, which I don’t have
thank god, which can cause problems.
It’s just the gallstones to be concerned with if at all, and
then that’s just a maybe. You just never know if one could block
a bile duct and cause that horrible pain and infection. Yet 80%
of people have gallstones their whole lives and are fine and
never even know they have them (Nikola you could have gallstones
even at your young age, or you too Neal, even though you’re not
young, so watch that fatty Italian food. It might taste good but
it gives your gallbladder a work out).
And he said I could have a few nice Czech or German beers over
there. No problem. My liver is still in good enough shape (in
spite of all those decades of strain I put on it). :'(
#Post#: 19571--------------------------------------------------
Re: Hi everyone again
By: MartinSR Date: November 2, 2019, 2:06 pm
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Hello Steven,
So you made a decision. Good luck with it.
Although the cholecystectomy is one of the most common
operations performed everywhere in the world, there is always
lower risk when the whole procedure is carefully planned and
hasn't be done in a hurry (e.g. when the obstruction of bile
duct causes empyema with increased risk of rupture leading to
peritonitis - potentially deadly state). I heard from the
surgeons about the increased risk of gall bladder cancer after
years of keeping stone in it. So I think those are the reasons
they advise to remove it.
In your case the surgeon said the GP or internal medicine
specialist may have other opinion, because you are not 100%
healthy besides. And even in young and healthy patient there is
always some risk with every type of operation. With cardiac
disorders and other illnesses the risk may be higher.
But, as you noticed, you want to travel and have an active life.
So you wouldn't decide to stay within the range of one hour from
your trusted surgeon in case of emergency operation needed. So
scheduling the operation seems rational in your case.
Good luck. We expect to hear from you soon after the procedure.
#Post#: 19573--------------------------------------------------
Re: Hi everyone again
By: SHL Date: November 2, 2019, 2:35 pm
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[quote author=MartinSR link=topic=1382.msg19571#msg19571
date=1572721595]
Hello Steven,
So you made a decision. Good luck with it.
Although the cholecystectomy is one of the most common
operations performed everywhere in the world, there is always
lower risk when the whole procedure is carefully planned and
hasn't be done in a hurry (e.g. when the obstruction of bile
duct causes empyema with increased risk of rupture leading to
peritonitis - potentially deadly state). I heard from the
surgeons about the increased risk of gall bladder cancer after
years of keeping stone in it. So I think those are the reasons
they advise to remove it.
In your case the surgeon said the GP or internal medicine
specialist may have other opinion, because you are not 100%
healthy besides. And even in young and healthy patient there is
always some risk with every type of operation. With cardiac
disorders and other illnesses the risk may be higher.
But, as you noticed, you want to travel and have an active life.
So you wouldn't decide to stay within the range of one hour from
your trusted surgeon in case of emergency operation needed. So
scheduling the operation seems rational in your case.
Good luck. We expect to hear from you soon after the procedure.
[/quote]
Thanks for the well-wishes, Martin. Yeah, I don’t want
gallstones. That just puts me at risk of future gallbladder
attacks and blockages (which are horrible). They do a
laparoscopic cholecystectomy where they make 4 holes in your
stomach, go in with a light and probe, and then just take the
gallbladder out though your belly button. It’s a one day
procedure. You go to the hospital in the morning and home in the
late afternoon. But, it takes your body a little while to get
used to not having a gallbladder and you can get diarrhea
afterward they say (sorry to be so graphic), but they say that
is easy to treat and only lasts a few weeks.
Hope to be back to normal soon. And with my statins, ( those
cholesterol pills)and blood pressure medication I feel back to
normal. 20 years younger. Now I can walk as many miles as I
want and no chest pain, and feel great. My cholesterol pill is
so big (80mg) it looks like something you’d give a horse. But,
it works. :)
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