Pain after biliary surgery

Definition

Temporary pain often occurs after bile extraction surgery. There can be various causes for this. In most cases, they are side effects of the healing process.

In rare cases, however, the pain can also be an indication of possible complications such as an infection or a wound healing disorder. The attending physician provides information about pain that can occur naturally. However, if the pain is very severe or increases over time, the doctor should be consulted again and asked for advice.

Causes

In a bile operation, various tissue structures of the body must be cut through in order to reach the gall bladder and operate out. Therefore, temporary pain occurs naturally until the body has repaired the damage caused during the healing process. However, every operation can also lead to complications, which often initially manifest themselves as pain.

These include, for example, an inflammation in the surgical area or skin wounds or post-operative bleeding. Furthermore, other causes can also lead to pain that is not directly related to the biliary surgery. In particular, back pain or muscular tension should be mentioned.

Measures for pain reduction

In order to treat the pain after surgical removal of the gallbladder, painkillers are usually available at the hospital. These are often the drug Novalgin® or the active ingredient Metamizol. The analgesic is usually first given as an infusion, i.e. via the drip.

After usually one or two days, the drug is changed to tablets or drops for swallowing. In the normal course of events, the pain can be treated well with this method and it weakens in the course of a few days. The painkiller can then be slowly discontinued.

However, if the pain does not subside, cannot be treated by the painkiller or even increases further, further treatment may be necessary. If a complication such as a wound healing disorder or an infection is the cause of the excessive pain, appropriate treatment must be carried out. This may mean a prescription of antibiotics and in very rare cases, a new operation.