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General complications of any operation

Pain: occurs with every operation. Efforts will be made to minimize the pain. A local anaesthetic may be injected into the skin and local nerves to ease the pain for several hours after the operation. You will be given medication to control the pain and it is important that you take it as instructed so you can move about and cough freely.

Bleeding can occur either during or after the operation. This rarely needs a blood transfusion or another operation but it is common to get bruising of the abdomen. This can be marked and cause a swelling around the wound but normally settles in a week or two.

Infection in the surgical wound, which may need treatment with antibiotics. This usually settles after a few days.

Scars: A small percentage of people have an inherited tendency to scars that are unusually red and raised. This may cause an unsightly scar but is of no other consequence.

Blood clots in the legs (thrombosis), which can occasionally move through the bloodstream to the lungs, causing breathing difficulties(embolus). You will be encouraged to get out of bed soon after the operation. Most people are given compression stockings to wear during the operation, though some are given an injection in the skin to thin the blood, depending on your risk level.

Complications of Any Laparoscopic Surgery

Damage to internal organs- when placing instruments into the abdomen. This is rare. The risk is higher in patients who have previously had surgery to the abdomen. If an injury does occur, open surgery may be needed, which involves a much bigger cut. About 1 in 3 of these injuries are not apparent until after surgery, so if you have pain, which does not improve the day after surgery, you must let your doctor know.

Surgical emphysema-(Crackling sensation in the skin due to trapped gas), which quickly resolves and is not serious.

Cholecystectomy complications

Persistent pain: (risk 5 in 100). This is sometimes due to your pain being caused by something other than your gallstones. Other investigations may then be required.

Inflammation- in the abdomen (peritonitis) due to a collection of bile or blood. This usually needs intervention using scans or an operation.

Bile duct injury – which is rare but potentially a serious risk. It may be recognized at the time of the operation and repaired or it may need corrective surgery later.

Serious damage to the liver or its associated blood vessels, which is very rare. A further operation may be needed to correct the problem.

These complications, like those of any operation, can result in permanent damage or death, but this is extremely rare.

In about 5% of cases it is necessary to change from a keyhole to an open operation because of some difficulty. This is usually due to very severe inflammation around the gallbladder making the risk of injury to the bile duct and other structures more likely. Occasionally there is some bleeding, which cannot be adequately controlled using the keyhole technique. This is performed for your safety. Apart from delaying your recovery, conversion to open surgery is unlikely to have long-term problems.