How Are Gallstones Treated?
Surgery Despite the development of nonsurgical techniques, gallbladder surgery, or cholecystectomy, is the most common method for treating gallstones. Each year more than 500,000 Americans have gallbladder surgery. Surgery options include the standard procedure, called open cholecystectomy, and a less invasive procedure, called laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
The standard cholecystectomy is a major abdominal surgery in which the surgeon removes the gallbladder through a 5- to 8-inch incision. Patients may remain in the hospital about a week and may require several additional weeks to recover at home.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a new alternative procedure for gallbladder removal. Some 15,000 surgeons have received training in the technique since its introduction in the United States in 1988. Currently about 80 percent of cholecystectomies are performed using laparoscopes.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy requires several small incisions in the abdomen to allow the insertion of surgical instruments and a small video camera. The camera sends a magnified image from inside the body to a video monitor, giving the surgeon a close- up view of the organs and tissues. The surgeon watches the monitor and performs the operation by manipulating the surgical instruments through separate small incisions. The gallbladder is identified and carefully separated from the liver and other structures. Finally, the cystic duct is cut and the gallbladder removed through one of the small incisions. This type of surgery requires meticulous surgical skill.
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. Recovery is usually only a night in the hospital and several days recuperation at home.
The most common complication with the new procedure is injury to the common bile duct, which connects the gallbladder and liver. An injured bile duct can leak bile and cause a painful and potentially dangerous infection. Many cases of minor injury to the common bile duct can be managed nonsurgically. Major injury to the bile duct, however, is a very serious problem and may require corrective surgery. At this time it is unclear whether these complications are more common following laparoscopic cholecystectomy than following standard cholecystectomy.
Complications such as abdominal adhesions and other problems that obscure vision are discovered during about 5 percent of laparoscopic surgeries, forcing surgeons to switch to the standard cholecystectomy for safe removal of the gallbladder.
Many surgeons believe that laparoscopic cholecystectomy soon will totally replace open cholecystectomy for routine gallbladder removals. Open cholecystectomy will probably remain the recommended approach for complicated cases.
A Consensus Development Conference panel, convened by the National Institutes of Health in September 1992, endorsed laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a safe and effective surgical treatment for gallbladder removal, equal in efficacy to the traditional open surgery. The panel noted, however, that laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be performed only by experienced surgeons and only on patients who have symptoms of gallstones.
In addition, the panel noted that the outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy is greatly influenced by the training, experience, skill, and judgment of the surgeon performing the procedure. Therefore, the panel recommended that strict guidelines be developed for training and granting credentials in laparoscopic surgery, determining competence, and monitoring quality.
According to the panel, efforts should continue toward developing a noninvasive approach to gallstone treatment that will not only eliminate existing stones, but also prevent their formation or recurrence.
The standard cholecystectomy is a major abdominal surgery in which the surgeon removes the gallbladder through a 5- to 8-inch incision. Patients may remain in the hospital about a week and may require several additional weeks to recover at home.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a new alternative procedure for gallbladder removal. Some 15,000 surgeons have received training in the technique since its introduction in the United States in 1988. Currently about 80 percent of cholecystectomies are performed using laparoscopes.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy requires several small incisions in the abdomen to allow the insertion of surgical instruments and a small video camera. The camera sends a magnified image from inside the body to a video monitor, giving the surgeon a close- up view of the organs and tissues. The surgeon watches the monitor and performs the operation by manipulating the surgical instruments through separate small incisions. The gallbladder is identified and carefully separated from the liver and other structures. Finally, the cystic duct is cut and the gallbladder removed through one of the small incisions. This type of surgery requires meticulous surgical skill.
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. Recovery is usually only a night in the hospital and several days recuperation at home.
The most common complication with the new procedure is injury to the common bile duct, which connects the gallbladder and liver. An injured bile duct can leak bile and cause a painful and potentially dangerous infection. Many cases of minor injury to the common bile duct can be managed nonsurgically. Major injury to the bile duct, however, is a very serious problem and may require corrective surgery. At this time it is unclear whether these complications are more common following laparoscopic cholecystectomy than following standard cholecystectomy.
Complications such as abdominal adhesions and other problems that obscure vision are discovered during about 5 percent of laparoscopic surgeries, forcing surgeons to switch to the standard cholecystectomy for safe removal of the gallbladder.
Many surgeons believe that laparoscopic cholecystectomy soon will totally replace open cholecystectomy for routine gallbladder removals. Open cholecystectomy will probably remain the recommended approach for complicated cases.
A Consensus Development Conference panel, convened by the National Institutes of Health in September 1992, endorsed laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a safe and effective surgical treatment for gallbladder removal, equal in efficacy to the traditional open surgery. The panel noted, however, that laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be performed only by experienced surgeons and only on patients who have symptoms of gallstones.
In addition, the panel noted that the outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy is greatly influenced by the training, experience, skill, and judgment of the surgeon performing the procedure. Therefore, the panel recommended that strict guidelines be developed for training and granting credentials in laparoscopic surgery, determining competence, and monitoring quality.
According to the panel, efforts should continue toward developing a noninvasive approach to gallstone treatment that will not only eliminate existing stones, but also prevent their formation or recurrence.
posted by Jerry at 9:50 PM
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