Re: gallbladder for anyone who was done at Taunton...

[angie790]

Just a quick question that I have after all this time, just realised I forgot to ask Dr Pinkney (and now of course I can't)...is your gall bladder removed as a matter of course...was thinking about gall stones after and I know some surgeons like to whip it out if they can, but it wasn't mentioned? Cheers my lovelies!

 

[seawaves]

Funny you should ask this question, because i asked Mr Mahon @ Taunton (as i'd seen this on fat doctor!) & he said no, firstly because they do key hole & not open surgery & then some jargon!! which at that point i got a bit lost ha ha, so basically no, hope this answers your question

 

[angie790]

he said no, firstly because they do key hole & not open surgery & then some jargon!! which at that point i got a bit lost ha ha,

lol, sounds like he was trying to baffle you with bullsh*t, but cheers for that Em! I have read some people have had theirs out even with keyhole, so was just checking!

 

[Tracey ( eyore)]

i have already had my gallbladder out last year ( not had my bypass yet) but i had it out by keyhole surgery at the time, so the fact the they dont cut you for wls shoudlnt matter.....should it ???

 

[angie790]

Hiya Tracey,

That's what I thought, as I have read about others who had their bypass done laparoscopically & they had their gall bladder removed...but I think Em saw Dr Mohan quite recently so I'm sure what he told her goes! xx

 

[smilergem]

Hiya, I have also been told that they don't take the gall bladder out routinely at Taunton, not sure of the reason.
Hope the rest of you west country girls are doing ok, xxxxxxxxxxx

 

[angie790]

Hey Jan,

Was wondering when I would get your pearls of wisdom!!!! Cheers for your reply too, looks like the gall bladder stays!

How are you Jan? Not long now girl, really excited for you! Are you on your pre-op diet yet? Are you getting yourself organised? xxx

 

[smilergem]

Hiya, am nervous and excited lol. Have to do the pre op diet for a week, but not sure which one to do yet, part of me says do the high protein low carb one that they give you routinely, but Liannos did the slimfast one, which I got Taunton to email me the other day. Just not sure which one to do :-(((( xxxxxxx

 

[angie790]

Eeeek, well whatever you chose you will do brill I know! You've not waited aaaaaalllllll this time & been turned down twice to mess it up, have you? I personally think I'm going to do whatever means I don't actually have to 'make any choices'...so thinking the Slimfast one is a good way to go too. Would you mind e-mailing me that over please, whenever you have a spare min, no rush xxx

 

[sassyp81]

I had my bypass at Taunton last year and NO they don't take the gallbladder out. Unfortunatley I had to have mine out in January anyway so I wish they had, it would have saved them money and me pain!
Nevermind NHS procedure baffles again!

Sxx

 

[Twiggie]

The reason most surgeons here don't take the gallbladder out at the same time is because a gastric bypass is a huge and risky operation in itself involving at least a couple of hours under the knife. To do the gall bladder as well adds further possible complications and prolongs the time under anaesthetic, so is just not worth the risk.

I need a hernia repair but my surgeon wouldn't do that either at the same time.

 

[marky v]

Ang, i have as you know, not had mine out, but over the last month or so have had sharp stabbing pains in my abdomen, just down below my right nipple, just under my rib cage (that i can actually feel now :8855, anyways, i went to my GP who believes it could be my gall bladder and maybe stones, off for a ultasound of my liver and gall bladdery bits on the 16th June so should no more after that, i mentioned to my surgeon pre op if he'd whip it out, as some peeps do get probs with it post op, he said he would if it was easy enough to reach at the time, obviously mine wasn't easy to get to, but hey ho!! if it needs doing i'll hopefully get it done at the same time as my hernia fix, that'll save time and only one incision!! speak to you soon x

 

[BlueDiamond]

i have already had my gallbladder out last year ( not had my bypass yet) but i had it out by keyhole surgery at the time, so the fact the they dont cut you for wls shoudlnt matter.....should it ???

Hello

I had my gall bladder out last sept and I had mine done via keyhole as well.

All the best - MeJulie x x

 

[angie790]

The research I have been doing suggests there is a x5 increased risk of developing gall stones post-op (caucasian women have a greater risk than men or any other geographic population). That said, it also seems us fatties have an altered gallbladder physiology before surgery anyway, which could explain why there is an increased chance of needing it removed due to gall stones post-surgery. Cheers for your replies everyone...it's interesting to get an idea of what you have been told/experienced!

 

[Twiggie]

The research I have been doing suggests there is a x5 increased risk of developing gall stones post-op (caucasian women have a greater risk than men or any other geographic population). That said, it also seems us fatties have an altered gallbladder physiology before surgery anyway, which could explain why there is an increased chance of needing it removed due to gall stones post-surgery. Cheers for your replies everyone...it's interesting to get an idea of what you have been told/experienced!

Thanks for this, I'd not yet done any research in this area. Did you find anything to indicate whether diet can affect the outcome of developing gall stones post-op?

 

[angie790]

Hi Twiggie,

To be honest, there isn't a huge amount of literature out there on this subject...I only read primary research journal articles because they have been peer-reviewed and I can judge the legitimacy of the results based on the statistics. Quite an early study (1993) suggests bile salt therapy (ursodeoxycholic acid) post-op, at doses greater than 600 mg daily can greatly reduce the risk of developing gall stones post-op. A further study in 2005 basically said the same: increased risk in women, but pro-ursodiol therapy reduces the risk of needing to have the gall bladder removed later.

I have read that typically one only has an ultrasound to check your gall bladder for stones if you have been symptomatic pre-surgery & I would imagine this also depends on your PCT.

Gall stones sound quite painful though, so I will be asking about these tablets when I get to see my doc finally.

I'm obsessing aren't I, lol? This is what waiting does to me....