How is a transvaginal gallbladder removal surgery performed?

Cholecystectomy has been performed for more than 100 years. The first conventional gallbladder removal by open surgery was performed in 1882 by the German surgeon Carl Lagenbuch. Since then, techniques have evolved until 1987, when Dr. Philippe Mouret performed the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy in France. 

Today, using natural orifices and scars and mini-incision techniques, it is possible to perform gallbladder removal through the navel and vagina without leaving any visible scars on the body.

In this article we will explain how a Transvaginal Gallbladder Removal surgery is performed. This technique, for obvious reasons, is only possible for women, although there is a variant for men that is performed through the navel using a device called a single port.

In the case of transvaginal laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the operation is performed under general anaesthesia. 

Once the patient is asleep, a mini-incision of no more than 3 millimetres is made in the back of the vagina. Next, two other mini-incisions are made in the abdomen, one at the bottom of the navel and the other in the abdomen. Using these holes and a device called a flexible endoscope, the surgical instruments needed to remove the gallbladder are inserted.

Once the surgeon has removed the gallbladder, it is removed from the abdomen through the incision made earlier at the back of the patient's vagina. The surgical tools are then removed and the incisions are stitched up. The operation takes an average of 40 minutes.

One of the most relevant benefits of transvaginal surgery is that the patient will only have two mini-incisions of between 2 and 3 millimetres in the abdomen, which will disappear completely one month after the surgery. This is one of the reasons why this type of minimally invasive surgery is called Scarless Surgery.

In addition to an aesthetic benefit, this technique of removing the gallbladder through the vagina also significantly reduces the possibility of suffering complications related to surgical wounds, such as infections or hernias, as well as in cases where the gallstone is larger than 2cm.