Question:
in a lap. surgery how does the Dr. remove an organ such as the gallbladder?

I also was wondering how the stomach comes out. Does it get removed in bits? Do they slice it and pull it out flat? What about the organ's contents? Just got really curious.    — Danine N. (posted on May 14, 2001)

May 14, 2001
In the lap surgery, you have an incision that is approximately 3 inches long, plus 3-4 small (1/2 inch) incisions that are used to insert the instruments. The gall bladder and the portion of the stomach are removed through the large incision. There are no stomach contents to speak of (trust me, you are thoroughly purged prior to surgery!).
   — Shannon M.

May 14, 2001
What you describe sounds like a kind of 'assisted lap' to me or perhaps a different lap method than I had: I have four small scars across my belly from the instruments, another one from the drainage tubes (removed on my third day post-op) and two really small round holes almost at my sides. All of these scars except one are about 1/2 inch in length. I also had a piece of tape covering the upper part of my belly button but the scar cannot be seen unless I really peek in. All these scars had surgical tape (they weren't sutured, etc.) and healed fine. The drainage scar took longer because it was open and leaked for awhile. It also got a little irritated and sore (perhaps because I experienced some post-op leakage in the first week out of the hospital). I had a lap DS. All the best,
   — Teresa N.