Recovery after gallbladder removal surgery

• Recovery after gallbladder removal surgery depends directly on the surgical technique used.
• Laparoscopic gallbladder removal significantly reduces the length of your hospital stay and the time it takes to fully recover.
• Although open surgery involves a slower recovery, the technique used is just as safe and effective as the others.

The surgery to remove the gallbladder is an operation that can be performed using different surgical techniques. Over time, medicine has developed techniques that are as effective as they are efficient. This not only achieves the desired results, but also makes stages such as the postoperative period more bearable.

Thus, depending on the technique used to perform the surgery, recovery from gallbladder removal surgery will take longer or faster. 

In fact, one of the most frequent questions that arise in medical consultations prior to surgery is about the recovery process: when you will be able to return to work, resume your routine or simply know when you will feel completely well.

In the case of cholelithiasis, i.e. the formation of gallstones in the gallbladder, the recovery time depends directly on the technique used. So, if you have gallbladder surgery, recovery will depend on whether you have undergone open surgery, laparoscopy or transvaginal or transumbilical surgery.

Open cholecystectomy is the surgical technique to remove the gallbladder, which is performed through an incision of between 7 and 10 cm in the upper right side of the abdomen. 

Currently, gallbladder removal surgery is performed using minimally invasive techniques, in which no incision is required. However, when the characteristics of the patient or the reasons for the cholecystectomy do not allow for other techniques, open surgery is the safest and most effective way to remove the gallbladder.

After gallbladder surgery you will stay in hospital for 2 to 4 days.

During your stay in hospital, you will be under medical supervision and your doctor will decide when you can leave the hospital.

Once you are at home, you may experience some discomfort in the operating area during the first two weeks. However, the doctor will prescribe some painkillers to control postoperative pain.

Eventually, the symptoms of the operation will disappear completely 4 - 8 weeks after the gallbladder removal, and you will feel fully recovered.

Currently, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the most commonly used surgical technique for gallbladder removal due to gallstones.

This technique allows the gallbladder to be removed with a minimally invasive technique, using 3 or 4 mini-incisions, avoiding making any cuts in the abdomen. Therefore, the technique used for gallbladder removal is crucial to determine how the recovery will be.

Recovery time after laparoscopic cholecystectomy is 5 - 7 days.

In addition, unlike open surgery, you will only be admitted to hospital for one day, and you can be discharged from hospital on the same day as the surgery.

If your work activity requires manual labour, lifting or physical effort, the doctor will probably not discharge you until approximately 10-12 days have passed.

Transvaginal or transumbilical gallbladder removal operations are techniques in which natural orifices, such as the navel or vagina, are used to remove the gallbladder. This is a minimally invasive process, leaving no visible scars.

As with laparoscopic surgery, after transvaginal or transumbilical gallbladder removal, you can leave the hospital the same day of surgery or, if the doctor deems it necessary, the day after surgery.

Full recovery will be completed in 5 - 10 days after the intervention.

During transumbilical or transvaginal surgery, the laparoscope is used, which is why the hospital stay and recovery time is also shortened.

As you can see, laparoscopic surgery significantly reduces the need for hospitalisation and the time it takes to fully recover, as well as the size of the scars (in the case of laparoscopy, they will be negligible).

However, there are circumstances and characteristics of some patients that make them "unsuitable" candidates for gallbladder removal with such minimally invasive techniques. In these cases, open surgery is the safest and most effective technique for cholecystectomy.

If you would like to know more about the surgery, we invite you to read more about it on our website. If you are interested in cholecystectomy, you can contact us by filling in the contact form or by calling at +34 91 141 33 56.

Our patient service department will arrange an initial consultation for free with the General Surgery Specialist, who will determine whether or not your case requires surgery.

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