Successful Mirizzi Syndrome Gallbladder Surgery!

Living with an angry gallbladder is no fun.

It can be incredibly painful and surgery to remove it is the best solution.

It looks as though I have been living with a dud gallbladder for a very long time.

Thankfully the universe gave me the mega nudge I needed to discover this and take action to having it fixed when I turned a lovely shade of yellow due to my bile duct being blocked by my gallbladder.

After 5 days of continual tests in hospital, I discovered that I probably had Mirizzi Syndrome and it meant that my gallbladder had attached itself to my liver. Even an MRI was unable to 100% confirm this. It did mean that a normal, straightforward gallbladder removal was probably not on the cards.

A date was booked to have my removal surgery, but I was warned it was almost inevitable that I would not be able to have this procedure via keyhole surgery and would require a full cut to have it done.

But miracles do happen.

Prince Charles Hospital Brisbane

Thanks to three surgeons they not only managed to remove almost all my gallbladder, find a solution to a completely collapsed gallbladder duct, clean away years of built up gunk and remove a massive stone, they did it all via keyhole.

That was 8 days ago.

I am totally amazed at how good I feel only a week post surgery.

I am virtually pain free, I can move around freely and only have a couple of bandaids left as evidence.

I was expecting a much tougher recovery as I remembered only too well how uncomfortable I was after my hysterectomy that could not be done via keyhole surgery.

Totally blown away at the difference.

It looks as though I will be able to go back to work a lot sooner than I anticipated and will not burn such a big hole in my built up leave entitlements.

After my post op check-up next week, I will be able to plan my return.

I am deeply grateful to all the surgeons and staff at the Prince Charles hospital who did such a great job looking after me. I am also soooo grateful I don’t have to eat another one of their low fat dinners again. The rest of the food was great, but those dinners……no!

All those years of ‘back pain’ that I put down to my job are now a distant memory. My symptoms did not match the traditional gallbladder ones, but in hindsight I now know why I was often so uncomfortable.

Just before I left hospital they asked me to sign a permission form to allow the film of my successful surgery be made available as a teaching tool, so now my ducky gallbladder even gets to be famous!

Moving on upward and forward from here on in!

Do you still have your gallbladder?

Sharing for #FYBF at With Some Grace.com

9 thoughts on “Successful Mirizzi Syndrome Gallbladder Surgery!

  1. Glad to hear you are on the mend. My husband had his gall bladder out a few years ago now- be careful if you need to take anything codeine based from now on- it can lead to excruciating pain- very common post gall bladder removal!

  2. Oh I’m so glad it all went well for you and you’re on the road to recovery! Yes, I still have my gallbladder but speaking of gallbladders – we nearly lost my 85 year old Dad over 12 months ago because of his gallbladder. He would have been 83 or 84 at the time. His was gangrene and infection had spread through his body. Long story but we are so thankful to the medical team for ensuring he survived. Enjoy your return to good health and being pain free! 🙂 xo

  3. Oh wow! So glad it all worked out for you, Nikki! Amazing work on the recovery too. World of difference when you have a great medical team behind you. Here’s to better and improved health! x

  4. Ive just found out that i might have mirrizi syndrome too…im awaitin on a mrcp scan to confirm this…reading yr article has gave me hope thank you

    1. It was all pretty scary to start with, but I had 3 awesome surgeons and they did a wonderful job, I am sure you will be just fine too! xx

  5. I had Mirizzi Syndrome in 2017 I had two open surgery’s to correct it but I’m on the mend now

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