LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Gallbladder: Patients
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Gallbladder stones are a very common disorder and are usually asymptomatic. Some patients experience biliary colic, an intermittent and often severe pain in the epigastrium or right upper quadrant and at times between the scapula caused by temporary obstruction of the cystic duct with a gallstone. If the cystic duct obstruction persists, the gallbladder becomes inflamed, and the patient develops cholecystitis, an acute inflammation and infection of the gallbladder.
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Gallbladder removal is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the United States. Today, most patients are able to have their gallbladder surgery performed laparoscopically which is minimally invasive. The medical name for this procedure is Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.
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Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) is done while the patient is under general anesthesia, unconscious and pain-free. It is most commonly performed through 4 small incisions, using a small video camera called a laparoscope.
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There's another interesting theory that links food allergies and gallbladder attacks. In 1948, Dr. J. C. Breneman began using a very successful regime to prevent gallbladder attacks based on his work with food allergies. Dr. Breneman holds that eating allergy-causing foods stimulates the swelling of the bile ducts. The swelling reduces the flow of bile from the gallbladder and causes the pain and other symptoms connected with a gallbladder attack. In one study, 100 percent of gallbladder patients were totally free from symptoms when they followed a basic allergy-elimination diet. The foods that most commonly produced symptoms in decreasing order of occurrence include eggs (93 percent of the patients reacted to eggs), pork, onions, fowl, milk, coffee, citrus, corn, beans, and nuts.
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CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Novare Surgical Systems announced today the successful completion of the first NOTES gallbladder removal procedures performed using RealHand HD instruments. Santiago Horgan, M.D., professor of surgery and director of minimally invasive surgery, and Mark A. Talamini, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at UC San Diego Medical Center performed California's first NOTES surgery on a 42-year old San Diego resident. Her gallbladder was removed through the vagina during a 1.5 hour procedure. UC San Diego Medical Center is the second U.S.-based hospital to perform transvaginal NOTES and the first to employ a unique technique that requires only one additional small incision placed through the belly button. This procedure received approval for a limited number of patients by UC San Diego's Institutional Review Board (IRB) which oversees clinical research.
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In this situation, a small stone that formed inside the gallbladder passes through the cystic duct and into the common bile duct (CBD). After receiving the pancreatic duct, the CBD narrows as it begins to pass into the duodenum through the ampulla of Vater. It is this narrow area that is most vulnerable to gallstones. If a stone gets stuck there, pressure builds up in the entire system, all the ducts dilate, the gallbladder may dilate, and, sooner or later, the patient develops jaundice. Obstruction of the common bile duct by stones is often associated with clinical findings of colicky pain of rapid onset and other acute symptoms.
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