It hurts when I eat!!! This is a common complaint I hear almost daily. As you know, at Total Body Surgical, we not only take care of Cosmetic Surgery patients, Vein patients, and obesity problems but General Surgical problems too. Many times, procedures can be combined to tackle two problems at once.
Abdominal pain comes in all forms and everyone experiences it differently. Pain in the right side of the abdomen under the ribs is a very common problem. This type of pain is usually the indicator of a failing gallbladder. It starts with pain after fatty foods but may advance to pain after any food. This pain may be felt in the back, usually at the tip of the shoulder blade. It may also present as indigestion. The pain usually starts as mild discomfort but as time goes on, it becomes more severe with spells becoming closer and closer together. It may be associated with nausea and vomiting as well as changes in bowel activity.
What is a gallbladder???? 
The gallbladder is a small, pear shaped organ at the base of the liver seen in the picture above. What does it do?? It is a small storage depot for bile. What is bile? Bile is a salt in solution that is formed and recirculated by the biliary system in the liver. What does it do? Bile is a solution that helps us digest and absorb dietary fat. Without it, fat just sails on through the digestive system and causes diarrhea. With it, the fat is emulsified and absorbed to use for energy. When a meal is eaten that contains fat, the normal gallbladder is stimulated to release a bolus of bile into the intestine. The bile mixes with the fat and it is digested and absorbed. What goes wrong to cause pain and gallstones? Pain is caused when the gallbladder is stimulated and it cannot contract properly. This causes a cramping type of pain (colic) in the right upper abdomen, back, etc. Bile is a salt in solution. If you take a jar and put salt and water in it, mix it up and keep it moving, the salt stays mixed in the water. If you stop the mixing, it can settle and form crystals at the bottom of the jar and if you roll those crystals around they can come together to form larger crystals or stones. This is what happens to the gallbladder. It loses its ability to release the bile when stimulated and the bile salt comes out of solution and eventually the crystals form gallstones. The stones are a symptom of the real problem....the gallbladder itself.
Once the symptoms become severe enough, most people will seek medical attention. The diagnosis is made with some fairly simple tests. First, the ultrasound. This is a simple and pain free test to detect stones. If stones are present and you are having symptoms the gallbladder should be removed....more about that in a minute. If the ultrasound is negative and the symptoms are convincing, usually a HIDA scan is ordered. This test is done to see how the gallbladder is working. It involves an injection to fill and then another to stimulate it to work. If it does not eject its bile normally, it should be removed.
Today the gallbladder is almost exclusively removed using a laparoscope. This is usually an out patient procedure done through small incisions and recovery is pretty quick. Incision placement is pretty standard...
Here is a picture of gallstones....not too pretty.
We can live normally without a gallbladder in most cases, especially a sick one. Some people may experience a little diarrhea that usually resolves but most importantly, the pain is gone. If the disease is not treated, the stones can escape the gallbladder and get into the duct causing bigger problems that we won't discuss here. The gallbladder can also become infected which can be an emergency.
This procedure can also be combined with a tummy tuck when done electively. The incisions are not made through the skin but under it so nobody will ever know....pretty cool!
Come see us at Total body surgical Cosmetic and Vein Clinic where we can discuss General surgical, Cosmetic, Vein, and Obesity issues. Don't forget our special pricing AND keep an eye out for our soon to be announced spring roll out!