suzysu

hi

my mum and dad are due to come over in about 5 weeks.

my mum went into hospital end of last week and looks like shes going to have to have an operation on her gall bladder to remove gall stones.

does anyone know what the recovery time is after an operation before u can fly? has anyone been in the same situation?

Clippy

Sorry Suzy, I don't know - I know after a cesearean you're not supposed to drive for 6 weeks as you wouldn't be covered on insurance - I think any operation to do with the stomach is the same. You'd need to get in touch with the insurance company and see if they'd still cover your mom when she flies.

I think if she's having keyhole for the stones it's a faster recovery but I don't know how long recovery is.

Kath

Clippy

I've just found this info from NHS website:

Removal of your gallbladder: is the most usual treatment for gallstones that cause symptoms. Your gallbladder is not essential for life and most people notice little difference without it. It actually stops working properly when stones form, so your body has already adjusted to its loss. Nowadays the gallbladder is usually removed by keyhole surgery and the operation is called a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A general anaesthetic is given with very small incisions needed in the abdomen, which enable the surgeon to pass through fine instruments and a tube with a camera on the end. The instruments are controlled by the doctor watching a TV screen. The gallbladder is removed through a cut in your navel. Most people are allowed home the following day, though some are discharged later the same day. Generally people are back to normal activities within two weeks.


Other types of operations: sometimes it is not possible to remove the gallbladder by keyhole surgery and about 1 in 10 people need a more traditional operation, which requires a longer stay in hospital and approximately 6 weeks convalescence. A few surgeons perform an operation called a minilaparotomy cholecystectomy, which uses special instruments and requires only a small cut.

Hope that helps

Kath

Flying Banana

If you have a look at this page it will give you some idea of gallbladder surgery related to flying: http://www.aviationmedicine.com/gallstone.htm

I'd say it will be down to her surgeon to give her a time as every person is different and heals at different rates.

Make sure she lets the surgeon know where she is flying to when discussing it with him, a long flight like to Aus may require a bit longer to heal than say popping over to Europe for a trip.

joho

I had my gall bladder removed via keyhole surgery last year, personally I would say 5 weeks is enough time to recover fully. I felt fully recovered after about 10 days and went back to work after 2 weeks. Of course this is as long as its keyhole, if there are complications and they need to open her up then I would say 5 weeks is a little optomistic.

Oh and a little while back I'm sure someone needed emergancy removal of gallbladder when on a stopover in America, I'm sure she flew on to Aus after about 2 weeks.

Jo

suzysu

thanks guys

joho

heres the link, it was Hels

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...t=gall+bladder

Welshie

Hi there, obviously each patient is different, but my sister just had her gall bladder removed via keyhole surgery and she was right as rain within 2 weeks, back in work etc etc....However, if she has to have the actual big op to remove it I doubt she will be fit enough to fly in that time,but it all depends on her age etc etc. The insurance will be a big factor too....with the keyhole surgery I'm sure there won't be a problem....just not sure about the other method. We just let someone fly off to S.Africa after having a back op three weeks previous....check with the surgeon...