Costa Rican Doctors Remove Gallbladder
Through Vagina
Four Costa Rican women were the first in
Central America to undergo a new procedure
to remove the gallbladder through the
vagina. The procedure is designed to cause
less pain and scarring than a usual
operation and allow a quick recovery.
The operation allows the extraction of the
gallbladder through natural openings of the
body rather than cuts in the belly. The
surgery still requires cutting, through the
wall of the vagina, stomach or colon, but
doctors say it should hurt less because
those tissues are far less sensitive than
the abdominal muscles.
The procedure, called Natural Orifice
Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES),
involves passing surgical instruments, and a
tiny camera, through a natural orifice, such
as the mouth or the vagina, to the desired
organ. By avoiding major incisions through
the skin, muscle, and nerves of the abdomen,
patients may experience a quicker recovery
with less pain and scarring while reducing
the risk of post operative hernias.
The procedure was first performed in France
in 2007.
Costa Rican doctor Cinthya Solano decided to
bring the procedure to Costa Rica where each
year the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social
(CCSS or Caja) treats some 315.000 patients
with gallbladder problems, which three out
of ten require surgery.
The gallbladder (or cholecyst, sometimes
gall bladder) is a small non-vital organ
which aids in the digestive process and
stores bile produced in the liver.
The first three procedures in Costa Rica
were performed at the Caja hospital, the
Hospital México, while the fourth was at the
private hospital CIMA.
Doctors report that none of the patients
experienced complications and secondary
effects.
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