Gallbladder Surgery Recovery Time

People with gallstone disease and other gallbladder ailments often wonder about gallbladder surgery recovery time. Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is the most common method of treating gallstones because it is minimally invasive in nature. Patients tend to go through a few stages in the recovery process, and each of these stages happens in its own time. 

After a laparoscopic gallbladder surgery, you can expect to feel sore for two to three days. You may also feel gas pains for the same amount of time. Both of these conditions could last as long as a week. They will not stop abruptly after this time interval, however. The soreness and pains will begin to taper, and you can expect to be fully functional in two to three weeks or, in some cases, four to six weeks. Many people find that they are able to perform their normal tasks within ten days. Now you can see that gallbladder surgery recovery time all depends on which level of function you are asking about. 

Gallbladder surgery requires anesthesia, so you can also expect muscle aches for a while until the anesthesia completely processes. You may also experience diarrhea, nausea and a reduction in appetite for a short period of time after gallbladder surgery. 

Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is quite often an outpatient procedure. Some people spend one to two days of recovery time in the hospital. Many people go home the same day. The total amount of time that it takes to perform the surgery is one and a half hours. The old method of open gallbladder surgery takes longer, and you can expect to be in recovery at the hospital for two to four days.