B Cholecystectomy
Surgery of the upper abdomen is used in the treatment of gallstones and other diseases of the gallbladder. Open cholecystectomy is performed in patients with adhesions, previous surgical procedures, infection, or major medical problems. An intraoperative cholangiogram may be done to determine if there are gallstones present within the biliary tree. The mortality rate for elective cholecystectomy is less than 0.5%. In patients older than 70 years of age, the mortality rate rises to 2% to 3%, mostly because of preexisting cardiopulmonary disease. Presently, the surgical approach used during cholecystectomy is laparoscopic.