Had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically yesterday and was given an abdominal binder to wear. They told my wife to have me wear it for two weeks and that what's in the notes, but told me to wear it a few days and then as needed. Any recommendations or experience? It seems like there are some studies that say in reality it doesn't affect outcome much beyond being uncomfortable, but I'm no doctor.

Lots of things are done in medicine that have hypothetical benefit, this may be one. Hypothetically, could reduce risk of hernia. However this isn't a huge issue if they did laparoscopic and did good suturing to close the port sites. Some docs do a good job closing some not so much.

If it was me, I would probably wear for a few days at least. If you have a gut, or weak abs, probably should wear a little longer.

Makes sense. I've got it off now because I took a shower, but it actually seemed like it was making one of the incisions hurt worse. It'll most likely go back on but my skin needed a break.

Thanks for the response!

what was the reason for the gallbladder removal?

i went to the emergency room for right sided abdominal pain. everyone thought it would be gallstones. no gallstones. no kidney stones.

had an endo and colonoscopy last week. nothing came of it. no ulcers.

HIDA scan setup for next Friday to check whether the gallbladder is emptying properly.

They determined I had biliary sludge. GI said at the end of the day it was likely to continue to cause me issues and recommended getting it done. I actually had a HIDA scan scheduled, but obviously cancelled that once we decided to remove it.

And I don't know if this is actually the case, but I had read or heard somewhere that if it becomes an emergency removal doing it laparoscopically may be off the table and could become an open surgery.

what led the doc to that diagnosis?

They saw it on the CT scan from when I'd gone to the ER.

Quincey P. Morris said:

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They saw it on the CT scan from when I'd gone to the ER.

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well, i went to the ER again yesterday. Had some sludge and inflammation in gallbladder. scheduled for laparoscopic surgery on Tuesday.

how long was your recovery?

It was a few weeks before the belly button incision stopped hurting when I would use my abs but even that wasn't too bad. I never even missed my step goal including the day I had surgery. Biggest issue was going between sitting and standing or laying down and sitting up. None of it was too bad though. I ditched the pain killers after a few days.