Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
BOOKS
Bennett, J. Claude, and Fred Plum, eds. Cecil Textbook of Medicine. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1996.
Bilhartz, Lyman E., and Jay D. Horton. "Gallstone Disease andIts...
Complications." In Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, edited by Mark Feldman, et al. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1998.
Fauci, Anthony S., et al., editors. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Feldman, Mark, editor. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 7th Edition. St. Louis: Elsevier Science, 2002.
Hoffmann, Alan F. "Bile Secretion and the Enterohepatic Circulation of Bile Acids." In Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, edited by Mark Feldman, et al. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1998.
Mulvihill, Sean J. "Surgical Management of Gallstone Disease and Postoperative Complications." In Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, edited by Mark Feldman, et al. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1997.
Noble, John. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine, 3rd Edition.St. Louis. Mosby, Inc., 2001.
Paumgartner, Gustav. "Non-Surgical Management of GallstoneDisease." In Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, edited by Mark Feldman, et al. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1998.
Sabiston Textbook of Surgery, 16th Edition. Philadelphia: W. B.Saunders Co., 2001.
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The narrated 3D animations shows the function of the gallbladder and explains how gallstones can be formed from cholesterol and bile salts. If gall stones block the outflow of bile from the gallbladder, a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) may need to be performed.
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Also known as cholelithotomy, gallstone removal is the medical procedure that rids the gallbladder of calculus buildup.
Surgery to remove the entire gallbladder with all its stones is usually the best treatment, provided the patient is able to tolerate the procedure. Over the past decade, a new technique of removing the gallbladder using a laparoscope has resulted in quicker recovery and much smaller surgical incisions than the six-inch gash under the right ribs that used to be standard. Not everyone is a candidate for this approach.
If a stone is lodged in the bile ducts, additional surgery must be done to remove it. After surgery, the surgeon will ordinarily leave in a drain to collect bile until the system is healed. The drain can also be used to inject contrast material and take x rays during or after surgery.
Other Information
As a urologist, I've found it's easier to do the PSA test and then sit down with the patient and say here's what the results mean for you. Given what we know right now, that seems a very sensible approach.
-Dr. Evan Vapnek
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