What is laparoscopic cholecystectomy?
The surgery to remove the gallbladder is called a cholecystectomy (chol-e-cys-tec-toe-mee). The gallbladder is removed through a 5 to 8 inch long incision, or cut, in your abdomen. During an open cholecystectomy, the cut is made just below your ribs on the right side and goes to just below your waist.
A less invasive way to remove the gallbladder is called laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This surgery uses a laparoscope (an instrument used to see the inside of your body) to remove the gallbladder. It is performed through several small incisions rather than through one large incision, usually 4 incisions, each one inch or less in length.
Open cholecystectomy
Open cholecystectomy is occasionally performed in certain circumstances, such as failure of laparoscopic surgery, severe systemic illness causing intolerance of pneumoperitoneum, or as part of a liver transplant. In open cholecystectomy, a surgical incision of approximately 10 to 15 cm is typically made below the edge of the right ribcage. The liver is retracted superiorly, and a top-down approach is taken (from the fundus towards the neck) to remove the gallbladder from the liver, typically using electrocautery.[8]
Open cholecystectomy is associated with greater post-operative pain and wound complications such as wound infection and incisional hernia compared to laparoscopic cholecystectomy, so it is reserved for select cases.
Procedural risks and complications
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy does not require the abdominal muscles to be cut, resulting in less pain, quicker healing, improved cosmetic results, and fewer complications such as infection and adhesions. Most patients can be discharged on the same or following day as the surgery, and can return to any type of occupation in about a week.