- Q. Does the gall bladder have no function? If a person can live normally after its removal why is it there in the first place?
- A. Not such an easy question to answer. The main function of the gall bladder is to concentrate (make thicker) the dilute (watery) bile from the liver and store it temporarily. The gall bladder must also be elastic and able to contract like a collpsing balloon to expel the stored bile. In people with gallstones both these functions are lost and the gall bladder becomes a bag that causes more trouble than act as a useful organ.
- Q.Where does bile go after the gall bladder is removed?
- A.The bile continues to go where it is supposed to go - that is, into the intestine, where it continues to help with digestion of fatty food. The fact that this bile has not gone through the process of concentration and storage in the gall bladder does not matter - digestion remains normal, and a person who has had the gall bladder removed may resume eating fatty food after the operation.
- Q.Will bile dripping into my intestine after operation cause cancer
- A. No it will not.
- Q. Will people have diarrhoea (loose stool) or poor digestion after the gall bladder is removed?
- A. Digestion will be completely normal after the gall bladder is removed. However - approximately one in six people who have their gall bladder removed complain of loose or more watery stool after surgery, but this is a self limiting phenomenon that disappears in a few weeks.
- A.The bile continues to go where it is supposed to go - that is, into the intestine, where it continues to help with digestion of fatty food. The fact that this bile has not gone through the process of concentration and storage in the gall bladder does not matter - digestion remains normal, and a person who has had the gall bladder removed may resume eating fatty food after the operation.
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