Gallbladder Surgery

The need for gallbladder surgery often comes on suddenly and painfully. Unfortunately, gallbladder surgeries are commonly mishandled by doctors. In some cases, patients find that in their efforts to solve this health problem another one has been created by their doctor. If you find yourself in this position, you may be able to recover significant compensation for your injuries.

Gallbladder surgery is needed in patients who have gallstones, which are hardened deposits of digestive fluid that can be extremely painful. Gallbladder surgery is usually the only treatment option for these patients with a genetic predisposition to gallstones or who have a high-fat diet.

Typically, the gallbladder surgery is conducted using a laparoscope, which requires only minimal invasion and healing. This type of gallbladder surgery is called laparoscopic cholecystectomy and requires that the surgeon has great skill in performing the operation because the incision site is so small.

Laparoscopic surgery will involve a camera and a light being placed in the patient’s body. The live footage will be viewed by the surgeon who will be able to see where the incision points need to be made. In the United States, there are about 750,000 laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgeries per year.

Gallbladder surgery conducted laparoscopically has a risk of the surgeon misidentifying incision points and performing the gallbladder removal on the wrong locations.

Bile duct injuries are also common. This occurs when a bile duct is burned, cut or pinched during the surgery and results in bile not flowing correctly or leaking. This can lead to pain and possibly death, if not treated.

A bile duct injury typically occurs because the doctor cannot see the key parts of these organs clearly. This can happen when the patient’s anatomy is atypical or if there is a lot of swelling, bleeding or scarring.

Another medical error that can happen is if the doctor fails to realize an error or does not remedy the error. If the surgeon could not identify the targeted anatomy on the patient or determined that the laparoscopic surgery was not successful, the surgeon typically should make a larger incision to get a better view of the operation site.

If you have come away from a gallbladder surgery with injuries, you can trust that the knowledgeable attorneys at our law firm will be able to effectively handle your claim.

Kilo Flynn attorneys have worked on gallbladder surgery cases throughout Missouri and Illinois. Our clients reside in the Missouri counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin and Crawford, and the Illinois counties of Madison, St. Clair and Monroe. For a free consultation with a St. Louis gallbladder lawyer, call our office today at 314-647-8910 or contact us online.