Any reason to KEEP gallbladder?

[JPreiss]

Sorry I'm bombarding the board with questions. I've read a lot of posts about taking the gallbladder out at the same time as the DS since so many people end up with gallstones and having to take it out anyway after fast weight loss. My doctor will do it for $1500 extra and I am willing to pay that instead of waiting for a later time when my insurance would cover it, just to avoid having a second surgery down the line and exclude one possible reason for abdominal pain in the future.

Seems like some people take it out, others leave it. Other than the extra cost, is there any reason people choose to keep their GB? Is recovery after DS slightly easier without GB removal?

 

[Clematis]

You got a bargain! Esquerra charged me $2k!!! Get it out. Recovery will not be effected one way or the other. And you have one less thing to worry about.

I have a problem with kidney stones and when they hit, I puke out my soul. (It's some nerve connection thing, not from the pain.) There came a point when all I am puking is disgusting pea green bile which makes me want to puke even more. My last puke fest stone was in Scotland last fall and at one point I realized I was only puking white foam. So for me that's another plus for not having a GB!

 

[JPreiss]

You got a bargain! Esquerra charged me $2k!!! Get it out. Recovery will not be effected one way or the other. And you have one less thing to worry about.

I have a problem with kidney stones and when they hit, I puke out my soul. (It's some nerve connection thing, not from the pain.) There came a point when all I am puking is disgusting pea green bile which makes me want to puke even more. My last puke fest stone was in Scotland last fall and at one point I realized I was only puking white foam. So for me that's another plus for not having a GB!

Yikes, sorry about your kidney stones. Too bad we need to keep our kidneys ha

 

[Marquis Mark]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but, since we're talking about gallbladders...

how long after losing weight with a DS would GB symptoms start to show if you didn't have it removed? I imagine the GB could go south at any time, but, if it were going to, wouldn't it be more likely right after losing a bunch of weight?

 

[Clematis]

It was 7 months for someone who posts here infrequently. Her DS surgeon refused to remove a "healthy" organ which I guess got him an extra surgery fee when he had to remove it later on.

Oh, wouldn't you be PISSED AS HELL to pay a fortune to get your tummy tuck/LBL, see this lovely belly and then have it sliced again for GB removal??

 

[Marquis Mark]

It was 7 months for someone who posts here infrequently. Her DS surgeon refused to remove a "healthy" organ which I guess got him an extra surgery fee when he had to remove it later on.

Oh, wouldn't you be PISSED AS HELL to pay a fortune to get your tummy tuck/LBL, see this lovely belly and then have it sliced again for GB removal??

That's what I'm thinking. At the same time, it's been 18 months since my surgery and nine months since my weight loss stopped so, according to statistics, I'm probably over the worst danger by now.

Here is a digestible, seemingly well-balanced argument about the pros and cons of removing the GB written by a bariatric surgeon:

http://www.obesityaction.org/educat...ses/gallbladder-disease-and-the-obese-patient

 

[Charris]

WOW THEY CHARGE THE PATIENT SEPERATELY NOW TO TAKE OUT THE GB ? WHEN I had my Distal Rny in 2000 they took mines out. I already knew before surgery it was slow emptying. When he got in he said it looked bad so he took it out. My 2 sister in laws and 2 cousins all has WLS AFTER me in the last 4 years and all got GB out and insurance paid. That is crazy. Its not like they are doing a little something extra that's cosmetic. But I get it you need to be paid for your work

I think law enforcement was a good field for me with 20 year retirement and all but I'm starting to think I should have listened to my Mama and went into the medical field...Lol

 

[southernlady]

Get it out at the same time if you can.

@Marquis Mark, it typically goes bad during rapid weight loss BUT gall bladders can go bad at any time.

 

[Clematis]

Yes @Charris a surgeon charges extra for everything extra (above the specifications of primary surgery) in there. Insurance pays for it so you may not have realized.

Interesting that the article shows that trocar placement differs for GB removal. BTW my trocar incisions vanished except for one "maybe it's a trocar or maybe part of pregnancy stretch mark" right above my navel (gone now after LBL) -- even my plastics surgeon couldn't find them. My highest trocar through which I think may have been used to remove the GB is still there but looks like a teeny pale pimple, not a slash - no one would ever guess it was a trocar incision, not even the PS when I pointed it out to him.

 

[Charris]

Yes @Charris a surgeon charges extra for everything extra (above the specifications of primary surgery) in there. Insurance pays for it so you may not have realized.

Interesting that the article shows that trocar placement differs for GB removal. BTW my trocar incisions vanished except for one "maybe it's a trocar or maybe part of pregnancy stretch mark" right above my navel (gone now after LBL) -- even my plastics surgeon couldn't find them. My highest trocar through which I think may have been used to remove the GB is still there but looks like a teeny pale pimple, not a slash - no one would ever guess it was a trocar incision, not even the PS when I pointed it out to him.

@Clematis yes I realize they charge for everything but i must have misunderstood. I thought they were saying insurance wasn't paying and the patient had to pay out of pocket.

 

[Clematis]

She's going to Esquerra in Mexicali so no insurance coverage. They don't remove GB there as a matter of course. In fact I badgered them in 2015 to remove it and suggested I had had issues with it in the past. (Not sure about that... maybe) I don't think they removed many during DS before me. Now it seems they are much more open to removing GB as an add on. And for less than what I paid!

 

[aaa]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but, since we're talking about gallbladders...

how long after losing weight with a DS would GB symptoms start to show if you didn't have it removed? I imagine the GB could go south at any time, but, if it were going to, wouldn't it be more likely right after losing a bunch of weight?

It was 3 years after my DS for me.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/s...moved-prophylactically.3568/page-2#post-53375

 

[Munchkin]

Just makes sense to me. Almost all females who have ever been MO and did the yoyo dieting thing is going to have problems eventually.

I insisted mine be removed. No way did I want another surgery 6 months later.

 

[Charris]

Just makes sense to me. Almost all females who have ever been MO and did the yoyo dieting thing is going to have problems eventually.

I insisted mine be removed. No way did I want another surgery 6 months later.

I know RIGHT! I'm glad mines had been tested with contrast so I knew in advance it was bad and was able to make it until mý Rny to take it out. When I tell you a bad gall bladder will have you on your knees.. OMG I wonder why. Mines didn't have any stones or anything it was just slow emptying.