After Gallbladder Removal Problems:

[tony0446]

I am a 56 yrs old male, I was rushed into hospital with acute cholecystitis(1st sept 2011),however I did not have surgery until after 5 days after my admission.I am experiencing pains on my right side with is located under my ribs.The pains gets worse if I take a deep breath.I have been back to the hospital where I had a chest x-ray(i think because my right lung had also collapsed whilst in surgery)and also had a ultra scan, which was unsuccesful as due to the amount of gas still inside me they could not see most of my organs(so I was told by the person carrying this out).

I am due to the the consultant again on the 4th January 2012,however my last visit I was told it was post operatine pain(this was before I had the x-ray etc). Please can someone tell me if this is correct, as the pain is unbearable.

Many thanks

Warren

[tony0446]

I have tried a low fat diet, even though the consultant advised me that there was not a need.However, the pain is still there,as for my bowels, as a rule are soft, and the smell is very bod.My mother has had her gallbladder out well over 40yrs  and she has said she never experienced much pain afterwards.I will be seeing consultant on the 4th Jan, and look forward to what ideas he may have.

[CalGal]

Tony, having pain for this long a period of time is not the 'usual' course of things after surgery.

Try following a low fat diet to see if it helps. It can be problematic for some to process fats after surgery and it can lead to pain and/or diarrhea. Some people also experience common bile duct spasms that can sometimes be helped with the use of specific anti-spasm meds.

You also need to have them check to see if there's any possibility that any stones/sludge may have escaped from the gallbladder and gotten lodged in the common bile duct. That can, and does, happen and can be investigated via an MRCP. Also make sure they check your liver and pancreatic enzyme levels. The results from those tests can yield important information that may give you doc a clue to what is going on.