A Patient's Story of Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Surgery

I started getting sick in July of 2006. At first it was just a bit of shaking and chills after dinner. Then slowing, within a month or two, it became nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, side pain, and those chills every single night. It went from just a few minutes a night, a few nights a week, to every night all night long. I had test after test. Those doctor visits became two times a week. I had ER visits. Nothing worked.

The doctors were mystified. They first gave me a EGD, basically a tube down my throat to look for abnormalities. Graciously I was given enough Versed before the procedure that I was completely knocked out for this procedure. It came back normal. My gallbladder and stomach appeared fine. Then they did an ultrasound of my gallbladder and pancreas. Again, it came back normal, no abnormalities. They then decided to do what they termed "the final test for gallbladder disease" and gave me what is called a HIDA scan. With this procedure I am given a shot of a tracer contrast solution and every so often an xray picture is took to see how the gall bladder looks. Once that part of it is completed the final solution, called CCK solution, is administered. The CCK mimics what goes on in the body with an ultra fatty meal. I spent the next hour crying in pain. The CCK solution is shown leaving the gallbladder and the test is completed by giving a percentage result. This percentage is the rate of extraction of the CCK through the gallbladder. A good acting gallbladder will extract at 70%,anything over 30-35 is considered ok. Mine was a 49. They thought it was still fine. I scheduled my surgery.

On February 7th, 2007 a day that was my husband's birthday I was prepped and ready for my surgery. I required no special things beforehand and laid quietly til I was called back to the OR. I woke in recovery with four bandaids and very little pain. My gallbladder was removed via a one and a half inch incision in my chest, the other three holes were for items used to hold the camera and the cutters. I was going to do the recovery without painkillers, and they all wished me luck. I'm happy to say that despite two days of massive uncomfortableness, I did it. The first few days I had bad gas pains, and the incisions hurt incredibly. I couldn't lie on that side. After the first two weeks I was able to do light housework and to be out of the house an hour or so. Today, two months after the surgery, I'm glad I did it. Most all my symptoms have disappeared, not all of them, but most. Everyday I'm a bit stronger. I've lost 28 lbs since I went into the hospital for the procedure. I'm betting it's from eating healthier. I'm buying more whole grains, more fat free foods, less meat.

My pain levels after the surgery was about 5 on a 1-10 scale. Before the surgery it would be at least a 7 or more. The pic accompanying this article is me two days after the surgery, when the bandaids came off. The raised areas are now completely flat, but the marks are still as dark. I tend to scar easily and I know my body will never look the same again. I'm ok with that. For anyone that gets gallbladder testing and have borderline normal results, keep striving for your answer. I knew going into the surgery that it may not work, that it may indeed really not be my gallbladder. I knew in my gut it was. (pardon the pun). I was willing to take what turned out to be a $17,000 chance to see if I was right. Knock on wood, it seems like I was. Today all I know is that, scarred body or not, I feel stronger, healthier, and that I have a brighter tomorrow.