Gallstones are pieces of solid cholesterol or a hardened combination of other substances found in bile that form in the gallbladder. They may be as small as a grain of salt or as large as a golf ball. Although one in 10 Americans has gallstones, most don't know it because 80% of gallstones remain silent and never require treatment. However, for the 20% of cases in which gallstones become lodged in surrounding ducts and cause severe abdominal pain and/or infection, surgical removal of the gallbladder is the most common course of action.
"Gallbladder surgery, known as 'cholecystectomy,' is performed on more than 500,000 Americans each year," notes Uniontown Surgeon Dr. Firooz Taghizadeh. "And these days, about 99% of the gallbladder surgeries I perform are laparoscopic procedures." This form of surgery results in a much quicker recovery period than major abdominal surgery and requires only three small incisions in the abdomen to allow the insertion of a small camera and surgical instruments. The camera then sends an image to a monitor that shows the surgeon a picture of the abdominal organs. Using surgical tools inserted through the remaining incisions, the surgeon can carefully remove the gallbladder. "It's a less traumatic procedure for the patient and, because the gallbladder is removed entirely, it eliminates the problems and risks of gallbladder inflammation or infection," adds Dr. Taghizadeh.
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