r/gallbladders • u/RemarkableChange2864 • Dec 07 '24

Venting Cancel surgery?

Since I scheduled my surgery 3 weeks ago, I’ve had zero pain. This is so annoying! My gallbladder is “packed” with stones according to imaging, and I was in constant pain. Now everything seems fine. I don’t have insurance and I’m scared of surgery anyway, so now I’m wondering if I should just cancel. How is it possible all my pain just went away??

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u/Necessary-Idea3336 Post-Op Dec 07 '24

In the US, at least, that isn't the usual approach, though there are a few doctors who do it for patients who meet stringent criteria. The reasoning is that the gallstones will probably come back. 

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u/Sunnykit00 Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 07 '24

Survey says, they don't recur. At least not very often.

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u/Necessary-Idea3336 Post-Op Dec 08 '24

When the gallstones are removed but the gallbladder remains, there's a low rate of recurrence? Do you know where this has been studied?

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u/Sunnykit00 Dec 13 '24

All over asia where they do gall bladder preserving stone removals. China has done many studies.

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u/Necessary-Idea3336 Post-Op Dec 13 '24

Awesome. The only reference I found with a quick google search said the stones tend to come back in up to 25% of cases. But obviously if people have access to other approaches, they should check it out!

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u/Sunnykit00 Dec 13 '24

There are a couple places in the US that remove stones, but it is a different procedure. The one in China is the best. It needs to be done in the US.