Gallbladder surgery: a big deal?

I was detected with gallstones in 2010 and being a doctor I knew that I would require a surgery as I was getting symptoms. The decision to get the surgery done was easy and I went to Dr Deepraj Bhandarkar at Hinduja Hospital. He told me that he would be doing a single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy. I must confess that I did not know too much about this form of surgery, which was relatively new then. Frankly, I was not too concerned about the scars etc. However, it was only after the surgery that I realized the full potential of the single incision procedure. The only painkiller I required was a Paracetamol tablets for a couple of days. I did not have to take antibiotics after the first day in the hospital and neither did I require any stitch removal. The ease with which the whole procedure got over and my super-fast recovery left me wondering at the progress the medical science has made. My mind went back to the open cholecystectomy surgeries I had assisted as a medical student years ago. At that time the patients required a week long hospitalization, had a much slower recovery and were left with a large scar. With me it was a matter of three days and I was back to work in my clinic on day four. As a patient our biggest concern about any surgery is the postoperative pain and I found that single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a truly minimal access surgery with minimal pain and discomfort.

Dr Gaurang Desai