Surgery While Pregnant??

I have a friend who had her gallbladder removed while pregnant with her 2nd child. She and the baby were fine. On top of that, she had gestational diabetes. All was well in the end.

Hello D.-

I had my gall bladder removed when I was pregnant with my twin girls...I was 23 weeks pregnant and I would do it ALL over again! It was a simple easy procedure and I had a quick recovery...I was actually back to work the following Wednesday (I had mine removed on a Saturday) Go for it! You will feel so much better!!!! :) If you want to talk more about it email me @ ____@____.com I will say the doctor that did mine said he does around 60 pregnant woman a year!!!!! I thought that was impressive...I had mine removed in the Dayton, OH area :)

Take care!

My daughter's dad has a sister-in-law that had hers removed while pregnant. She is due in Januray and had it done in September and when she had it done she was told she made the chance she would lose the baby higher. I think they told her it was a 60% chance that something could happen to the baby and she would lose it. So far nothing has happen but it worries us all. Good luck in your choice. I'm thinking if it were me and I could manage the pain I would just so my mind wouldn't worry that I might have hurt the baby. Good luck!

wait til after the pregnancy it wont hurt any worse than now.i still havent had mine out andi was told 3 yrs ago i needed to do this.K.

I had to have my gall bladder out right after i had my daughter. I know that i had to take a pregnancy test because the doc didnt want to do surgery or put me to sleep if i was pregnant. Since i was able to get the surgery i can tell you how they did it though and maybe it will help you decide. They use a small camera, which they feed up to the area where your gall bladder is. Usually the incision is made right under your belly button. then they make 2 small incisions in your right side where the tools when though to take it out and another small incision not far under your breasts in the middle. im assuming thats where they took it out. The only thing that would really worry me being pregnant, is the incision under my belly button, and feeding the camera up, but they may be able to do it differently for you. Good Luck, i hope everything turns out ok.

I also had my GB out while pregnant. I was losing too much weight and eating anything other than applesauce and crackers would land me in excruciating pain. I tried lots of alternative medicine remedies (e.g. apple cider vinegar) w/o success. I was only 7 weeks pregnant when my trouble started so we waited till 15 weeks and then did the surgery. It was the easiest procedure I've ever had, the recovery was super easy, even having stitches while my belly was stretching was no big deal. If the surgeon recommends it, I wouldn't hesitate and don't feel bad for not wanting to live with the pain- it affects your baby, too.

My sister is also pregnant with her 4th child and is about to have surgery to remove a large ovarian cyst (the size of a baseball) because it can cause a lot of pain and other complications due to her growing uterus. She just met with the surgeon and it sounds like they can perform surgeries pretty safely during pregnancy. I would be sure to discuss the pros and cons and risks of doing it now versus waiting, but I'm not sure about the gall bladder specifically - she had hers out shortly after her first was born. Good luck!

I had wrist surgery while 6-1/2 mos pregnant. It was a scary time but all went well. After consulting with my OB, the orthaepedic surgeon and anesthesiologist we were satisfied that no harm would be done to my baby. They were right. Recently I had laparoscopic surgery to remove my gall bladder and it went very well. My surgeon was surprised that I hadn't had an attack while pregnant. I understand it's very common. Of course I am not in the same condition as you but, I was able to get up the next morning and prepare breakfast. Good luck, I wouldn't want to ever have a gallbladder attack again, especially when pregnant!

Ok, this is one that I have very recent experience with. Let me give you a brief histoy...

I was about 21 weeks pregnant with #3 (now almost 6 months old) when I was having some back pain. Dr. suspected kidney stones and did an ultrasound which showed that my gallbladder was 75% full of stones. I too saw a surgeon shortly after that.

The way he put it to me was that if I could "grin & bear it" for as long as possible, it was much better for the baby. In my case it was not acute or in need of immediate attenetion (other than the fact that I was in serious pain). While you are pregnant, cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) is not possible through laparoscopy ( when the suck it out through the tubes). Nothing is in its right place and it is too hard to maneuver around the baby with the scope. That means that surgery must be done with a 6 inch incision on your right side. Not to mention, either surgery requires general anesthesia.

I delivered full-term having only 2 major attacks during the pregnancy. I chose to wait on the surgery (against the advice of my surgeon) because I was nursing and didn't want to hinder my milk supply with an overnight hospoital stay. Well, after having 3 major attacks in 2 months, I decided to have the surgery. The baby was just under 3 months old. I have felt sooo much better since having the surgery and my milk supply wasn't affected at all. I was able to take my pump with me to the hospital and the nurses helped my pump & dump.

Bottom line is that as long as your gallbladder is not diseased, and you can grin & bear the pain, then it is best to hold off on the surgery. It is better for you and definitely better for the baby. Please feel free to email me if you have any more questions. I'd be happy to help. I too came to mamasource when I was in your shoes and loved that there were people who cared enough to follow up and see how I was doing.

Hi D.-
I am a nurse and work in L&D- I know that we take care of patients who have this surgery. Of course there are always risks that they will discuss with you, but typically we monitor the baby before and after; general anesthesia does affect the baby but wears off just like it does for you. I guess the question is; how bad is the pain? If your surgeon recommends it or is willing to do it, I would say it is fairly safe. (Of course with the disclaimer that this is personal advice and not a professional medical opinion).

I know two women who had ovaries out while pregnant. Both babies are just fine. Go over pros and cons and decide what's best for you and your baby. Good Luck:)

D.,

I had my gall bladder taken out while I was pregnant. I had to wait until I was 13 weeks pregnant. My doctors told me that it was safest to do it in your 2nd trimester. I was very anxious and scared to have the surgery, but was in extreme pain every day. I decided to go ahead with it. It is an outpatient procedure and I had no side effects. It was worth it. I would let your doctor and the surgeon know that you are nervous and take their advice on if you should do it now. I had a wonderful surgeon at St. Vincent Carmel Hospital named Dr. Brenda Cacucci. She also did surgery on a hernia at the same time that I had my c-section. Good luck... the surgeon will tell you what is safe right now for the baby and will help you make a decision.

S.

When my pregnancy was confirmed and I had my first ultrasound, a growth was found on my right ovary. It started growing with the uterus and ended up competing for space inside of me. I ended up having surgery when I was 15 weeks pregnant. Besides meeting with the surgeon, I also met with the OSU Hospital high risk pregnancy dept which was recommended by the surgeon. I met with Dr. Celeste Durwald who examined me and explained the entire surgery to me. (She was not my surgeon). It was a wonderfully informative meeting. I was very thankful to my surgeon for "organizing" this meeting. My surgery went well and my son was not harmed during surgery by the anesthesia or any other pain med. I am glad I had the surgery. Recovery time was a little longer - about 6 to 8 weeks but everything healed really well. My surgeon gave me "real" stitches on the inside that I will always have and staples on the outside. I was pleased with everything. I know it's scary but just weigh the pros and cons and meet with a dr from OSU if you can. They have tons of experience with this.

I'm in the minority here but have you considered alternative treatments? I had gall bladder trouble while pregnant with my twins and I went to a kinesiologist (like a chiropractor, but works with muscles AND bones, not just the bones) and in 7 weeks, I think, he was able to get my gall bladder working correctly again. It seemed like a long time, but I was determined to keep my organs! LOL Anyway, there are also herbs you can drink as teas that are good for clearing toxins from the gall bladder and safe to use while pregnant. I like the www.mountainroseherbs.com site - their products so far for me have been quality. Good luck, whatever you decide!

I had to have the same surgery while I was pregnant with my first baby. I was 19 weeks along and went into the hospital with severe ab pain, and they did an emergency gallbladder removal. I went home the next day. I remember one of the doctors telling me that at this point your baby is only getting bigger all the development is complete. So, all the medicine I had gotten (morphine, demerol, dilaudid, and general anesthesia) were just going to make the baby sleepy. But, not do any harm to him. 20 weeks after surgery I had a very healthy 9 lb 7oz. baby and he is 9 months old now and doing great. I am pregnant again and very happy I don't have to worry about any gallbladder problems.

I would recommend getting it out, instead of having the horrible gallbladder attacks, which personally, I thought were worse than labor pains. The surgery slows you down for 3 or 4 days, and they sent me home with Vicodin.

My mother in law had to have her appendix removed when she was 5 months pregnant with my husbsnd and that was a LONG time ago!! I'm sure your surgeon wouldn't perform the surgery if it wasn't necessary or too dangerous. Good luck.

I don't have any experience with this, but I found some related info on the web. Hopefully, this will help. http://www.medhelp.org/forums/gastro/messages/35729.html

Mostly, I would just like to thank you and your husband for serving our country. God bless you both!