Maybe you're not certain what a Cholecystectomy is-
but I bet you've heard of someone having their gallbladder removed!
A cholecystectomy is just the fancy medical term for
surgical removal of the gallbladder or in teenager language-
"gettin' your gallbladder out"!
For whatever reason it seems I have been surrounded
(this school year especially)
by people who have had their gallbladders removed.
Want to know the weird thing?
The majority of these people are teenagers!
A few of these gals (I know, all girls too!)
don't really understand what a gallbladder is or does.
Gallbladder 101
So, what is a gallbladder you wonder-
I know it sounds weird... a gall and a bladder combined!
Basically, the gallbladder is a small hollow,
balloon like "device"
located just below your liver.
The liver produces a substance known as bile.
Bile needs a home and so the gallbladder is where bile lives.
However, bile seems to be a bit of a wanderer
& after meals bile leaves the gallbladder
and enters the small intestine. Once in the small
intestine bile helps digest fats. Sounds fun, right?
Life can go on without a gallbladder,
but the poor liver now has a new job..
Not only does the liver continue to make the bile,
but now the liver has to store & secrete the bile too.
This can cause a whole new group of issues-
maybe for another post ?
We are born with gallbladders, but
evidently we can live without them!
Just like the appendix-
again, maybe another post?!
"gettin' your gallbladder out"!
For whatever reason it seems I have been surrounded
(this school year especially)
by people who have had their gallbladders removed.
Want to know the weird thing?
The majority of these people are teenagers!
A few of these gals (I know, all girls too!)
don't really understand what a gallbladder is or does.
Gallbladder 101
So, what is a gallbladder you wonder-
I know it sounds weird... a gall and a bladder combined!
Basically, the gallbladder is a small hollow,
balloon like "device"
located just below your liver.
The liver produces a substance known as bile.
Bile needs a home and so the gallbladder is where bile lives.
However, bile seems to be a bit of a wanderer
& after meals bile leaves the gallbladder
and enters the small intestine. Once in the small
intestine bile helps digest fats. Sounds fun, right?
Life can go on without a gallbladder,
but the poor liver now has a new job..
Not only does the liver continue to make the bile,
but now the liver has to store & secrete the bile too.
This can cause a whole new group of issues-
maybe for another post ?
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| picture link |
We are born with gallbladders, but
evidently we can live without them!
Just like the appendix-
again, maybe another post?!
