Panama Medical Vacations

Laparoscopic Surgery

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Panama

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that sits beneath the liver in the right-upper abdomen. It is attached to the liver and its function is to store bile. These ducts carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and intestine where the bile helps digest food. The gallbladder is not required to keep you alive, but when there are problems with it, it can seriously affect your quality of life. If you need a gallbladder surgery, also known as a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, it’s time to take advantage of Panama’s health tourism and have your surgery done at Hospital Punta Pacifica.

The Procedure

The patient receives general anesthesia. A small incision is made at the navel and a thin tube carrying the video camera is inserted. Your surgeon will then inflate your abdomen with carbon dioxide, a harmless gas, for easier viewing as well as to provide room for the surgery to be performed. Next, two needle-like instruments are inserted in other incisions in your abdomen; these instruments serve as tiny hands within the abdomen. They can be used to move the gallbladder and intestines around and generally assist the surgeon. Finally, several different instruments are inserted into a fourth incision to clip the gallbladder artery and bile duct, and to safely dissect and remove the gallbladder and stones. When the gallbladder has been disconnected, it is then removed through the navel incision. The entire procedure normally takes 30 to 60 minutes. The three puncture wounds require no stitches and may leave very slight blemishes. The navel incision is barely visible and will fade with time.

After your surgery

One of the main benefits of this procedure is the ease of recovery for the patient. Since there is no large incision, there is no incision pain. The patient is up and about the same day and in 90% of the cases, patients go home the same day. The remaining patients are usually discharged the next day. Within several days, normal activities can be resumed because the recovery time is so quick. And the best news is no 7-inch scar to keep you out of your bathing suit and off the beach!

Risks

Because of the relatively safe nature of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the side effects are rare and usually minor. In about 5 to 10% of cases, the gallbladder cannot be safely removed by laparoscopy and an open abdominal cholecystectomy is then immediately performed. Nausea and vomiting are both possibilities and may occur after the surgery. Injury to the bile ducts, blood vessels, or intestine can also occur, requiring corrective surgery.