Liver and Bile Duct Surgery
Liver and Bile Duct Surgery
The liver is an organ that is around half the size of a football. It is located on the right side of your abdomen immediately below your ribs. The liver is crucial for both food digestion and detoxifying your body of harmful toxins. Liver disease may run in families (genetic). Viruses, alcohol use, obesity and diabetes are just a few examples of the many variables that can harm the liver and result in liver disorders. Cirrhosis, which can cause liver failure and be fatal, is a disorder that develops over time as a result of liver damage conditions. But early intervention can offer the liver some breathing room.
The liver produces and excretes bile, which is then transported to the small intestine where it aids in the digestion and absorption of food. Bile travels through a system of tube-like organs known as bile ducts. The common bile duct links the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas to the small intestine.
A procedure called bile duct exploration is used to determine whether anything, such as a stone, is obstructing the bile’s path from the liver and gallbladder to the gut.
Symptoms
People with biliary obstruction usually have:
- Light-coloured stools
- Dark urine
- Jaundice (yellowish eyes or skin)
- Pain in the upper right side of the abdomen
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Weight loss
- Itching
Liver disease doesn’t always cause noticeable signs and symptoms. If signs and symptoms of liver disease do occur, they may include:
- Skin and eyes that appear yellowish (jaundice)
- Abdominal pain and swelling
- Swelling in the legs and ankles
- Itchy skin
- Dark urine colour
- Pale stool colour
- Chronic fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Tendency to bruise easily
Treatment
If the stone or obstruction is not removed, the bile duct may get infected and require emergency surgery. This surgery can be carried out while the gall bladder is removed.
An ERCP would be a different type of treatment (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography).
Surgery to treat liver cancer can take many forms. There are three most common forms of liver surgery:
A liver resection: This is surgery to remove the part(s) of your liver with the tumours. When your surgeon removes a tumour, they’ll also need to take out a small amount of healthy tissue around it. The amount of tissue that will be removed depends on the size and location of the tumour(s).
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA): A high-temperature treatment for killing cancer cells.
Depending on the root of your liver issues, there are different liver disease complications. Untreated liver disease may develop into liver failure, a condition that poses a serious risk to life.