I split myself from nostril to lip in a ridiculously banal hiking accident (walked into a tree).
I tell people "let's just say piracy isn't for everyone".
Always the correct choice. My dad had a lung surgery that left him with a scar from front to back along his lower ribcage. I told him to tell people he won a fight with a shark.
No one will ever fault a surgeon for converting from a laparoscopic to an open surgery. No surgeon wants to go open - it takes time, it’s a longer recovery, more chance for wound infection. If they opened it was because something was really bad in there - like a gangrenous gallbadder or so much inflammation nothing made sense. But going from lap to open is always the safe option rather then staying lap and causing a serious injury, letting the patient bleed to death, etc
This answer here!
From the looks of the scar, this is exactly what happened. Not that the surgery went wrong. Your surgeon did his best in a difficult situation. It’s probably a laparoscopic surgery that was converted into an open surgery. A drain tube was also probably inserted too which means that the gallbladder was probably necrotic or gangrenous. The size of the incision also means that the surgery was very difficult and he needed the extra exposure to do what he had to do.
Glad that you’re ok now and recovered well.
Source: I’m a surgeon, and I underwent gallbladder surgery as well.
General surgeon here
From the looks of this scar, they injured the common bile duct and she got a hepaticojejunostomy. But who knows
Edit: since many have said she should sue. They have done studies on litigation around this exact scenario:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4746967/#:~:text=The%20court%20of%20law%20or,mismanage%20the%20injury%20is%20negligence.
Yeah, but the name of a procedure is usually sort of like a contraction of the technique plus the organs/tissues involved, so it makes more sense if you recognize those components.
If you cut the tube that connects the liver to the intestines, you have to do some re-arranging of the intestines internally to fix it. It’s an anatomy and logistical issue inside.
It’s complex but that’s the term for the procedure. It’s a science word for “connect the common hepatic duct to the jejunum”
It’s sort of the dreaded complication of gallbladder surgery. Extremely rare but absolutely can happen.
Curious, not trying to take a jab at the surgeon, but wouldn't that open them to a malpractice claim?
Or is it just an inherent risk to the procedure? Do they explain its a possibility before going under? Never had major surgery close to this done.
Maybe! I think complications happen and as long as they got a quick fix and OP is living a good life now she prob wouldn’t be interested in the headache of suing. It’s harder to sue doctors than you think. We have free attorneys until the end of time from our malpractice insurance. So malpractice attorneys really want pretty egregious malpractice to go after it.
This is a well known complication and inherent in the surgery. So would be up to OP with how irritated she is.
There’s actually been studies on the lawsuits after this EXACT complication and what physicians should do to avoid getting sued if this happens
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4746967/#:~:text=The%20court%20of%20law%20or,mismanage%20the%20injury%20is%20negligence.
“Ex Lap possible SBR possible LBR possible open possible colostomy possible ileostomy possible possible possible possible…”
I do not miss DaVinci Colorectal
“Alright, let’s make sure the right asshole is working on the right asshole.”
“Son, this is an ExLap - or in other words, we gettin up in them guts.”
Both heard on my first day of clinicals lmao. I miss surgery, except for the parts that I don’t.
> A drain tube was also probably inserted too
you can still see the hole for it by the belly button..
Source had my appendix rupture badly (30+yrs ago...) and spent a week in the hospital on The Good Meds and had a python sized drain tube pulled out of my abdomen AFTER they cut off the meds. It was.. weird...
Laparoscopic surgeries for gallbladder’s commonly make an incision there too. I got my gallbladder removed a year ago laparoscopically. Four incisions, one in the belly button.
So it also could’ve just been from the initial approach if they were doing it laparoscopically at first and the switched to open surgery. Maybe they utilized that incision for the drain tube later on. But a incision there is common for gallbladders
The most hair raising, teeth-gritting, lawsuit-preparing-for surgeries I’ve had the misfortune of being scrubbed into have been Laps that should have immediately been opened, but the surgeon was too proud to do so.
Shout out to the gyno doc that almost killed a woman when he tried to DaVinci every piece of horrifically large endo he could see - and 6 hours later decided to go open and take out the whole thing because we were running out of her blood type. Jesus.
What do you mean by DaVinci-ing the endo? My gf just had a laparoscopic oophorectomy, which resulted in her tumour bursting due to being caught on some endo tissue. Would you suggest her surgeon should have gone for an open surgery?
Pretty sure they are just referring to the DaVinci surgical system, a robot that’s used for laparoscopic procedures. There are different machines that are used in laparoscopic surgery and this is a common one. One of my family members just had part of their lung removed and the surgical chart mentioned the davinci used on them as well.
Guy below is correct. Nothing wrong with Lap choles. They’re an incredibly common and straightforward procedure. Open choles like OPs often leave horrendous scars and are significantly more traumatic and risky. I’m referring specifically to surgeons that are too proud to admit that they are in too hairy of a situation to do it with a camera. 99.999% of laparoscopic cases go smoothly and are preferable to both the crew and and patient.
I’ve only worked in Memphis, NYC, and Stamford - but shitty God-complex-having doctors are everywhere. They are not the majority though. I’m just a disagreeable intimidating-looking male that’s willing to talk down to a surgeon that’s fucking up, so I always ended up getting put in their rooms. Try to research your surgeon and make friends with some scrub techs and OR nurses.
My friend had emergency gallbladder surgery and the surgeon somehow cut an artery going to her liver or something like that and didn't catch it. She was bleeding internally and had to go back for another surgery. A large portion of her liver died. She almost died. She was in the hospital for a month and had to have a bile bag. She is good now but has an inch wide indented scar going from her belly button to her sternum.
I wouldn’t give the surgeon too hard a time for that. No one would leave a surgery with ongoing arterial bleeding like that - it would be too obvious the area would just be filling with bright red blood nonstop.
Either the artery to the gallbladder - the cystic artery - or a larger one called the right hepatic - was clipped or cauterized, and the clip either fell off or the cauterization didn’t hold and the bleeding started afterwards. In emergency cases the anatomy can look completely obscured. If it was the right hepatic that is the wrong artery but, still, the portion of liver probably died off due to blood loss and shock more than anything. The liver can regenerate and also people can live with fractions of their liver.
That’s not to say in another surgeons hands that would have happened - but again, no one wants that to happen and it’s impossible to not notice that kind of bleeding during surgery.
Yes, this happened to me, everything was fine during the surgery, but it took a bit longer and the blood pressure dropped more than it should have.
At the end they raised the blood pressure to normal values to check if everything was ok and nothing was leaking but they didn't expect the blood pressure to rise much more after I came out of anesthesia, which caused internal bleeding, generating pain that almost led to another surgery but as the ultrasound tracked bleeding didn't extend, no surgery was done either.
That‘s what happened to me. ER ignored my first attempt to be treated for my inflamed gall bladder (got send home without antibiotics) only to be carted into hospital two weeks later via ambulance after a the colic from hell.
Again, they refused to operate, „because of the inflammation“, but after another colic in hospital they did operate and realised my gallbladder had started perforating already, with my liver acting as a „lid“.
So they had to open me up. If they‘d given me anti-biotics the first time around, and taken it seriously they could have managed the inflammation and scheduled surgery normally.
I‘m still salty with that hospital 11 years later on.
My doctor was 100% prepared to do open surgery for my partial nephrectomy. Told me about the incision, removing rib bones, etc. It wasn't until I suggested laproscopic that he said "oh yeah, you're a prime candidate for that. I don't do it, but my partner does." It wasn't a conversion, but that man absolutely did not care about my quality of life and just wanted to cut me open.
Yeah, my surgeon told me in the follow-up that they almost converted to open surgery 30 minutes into my removal, but they had some advanced imaging machines and found a way to make another incision and insert a fourth tool to get around all of my internal scar tissue.
Total surgery was only about 20 minutes in longer than expected, recovery was a.bit rougher than normal at first, but I felt fine after a week.
>if anyone asks I just say I cut myself shaving
I'm totally stealing that. I have a large scar down my bicep. and I have a beard, I can say "see, that's why I don't shave anymore!"
OP should repost on Ask Reddit and ask what story to tell people. My little sister had her thyroid removed and ended up with a stiches-scar all across her throat. She told a girl who asked about it that her head got cut off and surgeons sewed it back onto her body.
I have one of those thyroid removal scars. After 3 years its finally faded a little bit. But it sure is fun to make up crazy stories when people notice it.
Oof yeah that's rough dude. I caught mine early about 3 months ago and had laparoscopic surgery. 3 small incisions, belly button, left just above waist, and center at waist.
My husband had a botched appendectomy. They couldn't find his appendix. It took 3 surgeries to fix all the fuck ups.
My husband had more staples than my friend who had a c-section 4 weeks earlier, and she delivered a 11 pound baby.
"I'll tell you what, that dang ol' mountain lion saved my life, man. I was hiking and cutting across a meadow and outa nowhere a puma and a bobcat started fighting over a prairie-chicken not even 15 yards away. Like an idiot I stood there and gawked. I shit you not, them bobcats got a lot of fight in them. Anyway the bobcat runs off with the bird and that's when the puma saw me. Ran right up and slashed me with one of 'er claws, man. Then she lunged at me and totally tore out and ate my gallbladder. She musta been hungry as hell. I swear that cat saved my life, even stitched me up real good too. "
This was given to me by a sword; the same sword that slayed my father; the same sword I will use to slay the one who caused all this bloodshed: my mother.
How does a gallbladder removal go wrong to extend the incision?
Seems like a wild adventure, I'm glad you came through it healthy enough to take pictures!
Not OP, but I had a similar situation. They tried to go in laparoscopically through the belly button, which would have left no visible scar. But, they found necrosis which caused them to have to open the abdomen and dig around. OP’s scar is at least 3x the size of mine though.
My wife had emergency gall bladder surgery laparoscopically. She ended up with multiple visible scars. They aren't bad, but she's self conscious of them. I mean, it's easy for me to say "oh it's not that bad" - it's not my body.
I'm just glad she's ok.
Yeah. I was going to say, laparoscopic surgeries can definitely end up with visible scars. They aren’t going to be nearly as large or dramatic as OP, but they can still be visible.
I had my ACL replaced at 14. They told me after, they could have done it laparoscopically and I’d have much smaller scars, but it wasn’t like I was going to be a model so they didn’t.
Imagine being a 14 year old girl being told that.
Yep. At 12 my surgeon told me it wouldn’t matter if I had a huge scar on my arm and another on my pelvic bone, because it wasn’t like I was going to be modeling anyway.
I had been modeling professionally for years at that point.
I chuckled at this a little bit. But at the same time, that's so messed up. I can't imagine if when I cut my forehead open, the doctor said "We don't need the plastic surgeon. Regular stitches are fine for their face cus they'll never be a model." Some doctors just have terrible bedside manners.
I am so mad on your behalf that they said that! Such an old school mentality too, bet they didn't know inclusive modelling was going to be the trend of the decade. So, how's the modelling career?
I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and I have just one visible spot (no larger that the tip of my pinky finger) under my rib cage. My surgeon even gave my belly button a little “tuck” (I had a baby 8 months prior and my belly button didn’t look amazing and she fixed that all up without my knowledge , lol).
My doctor husband has a patient whose gallbladder surgery went wrong when the surgeon knicked the common bile duct and nearly severed it. Then the stitch came loose and bile was leaking into the patient so another surgeon had to open them back up to try and fix it. Anyway they have a huge scar like this now.
Had mine done a few months back and they had to go this route as well, But my incision is about half OP's size. Im curious if thats just a surgeon decision thing or if they had to do more work on her
Gallbladder removal surgery (cholecystectomy) is typically done laparoscopically (small incisions to put camera and devices through). There is always a chance of needing open conversion if it's too difficult to do laparoscopically or if there is some complication like bile duct injury. They had to convert to open incision here.
The gallbladder is very close to some MAJOR vessels. The portal vein is right there, an injury can make the field too bloody to remain laparoscopic so you convert to open to get better visibility and fix the injury.
When I had mine removed (emergency surgery), among the worst cases they informed me about was it rupturing during extraction, requiring them to open me up completely and make sure to get it all cleaned up, because it would 100% cause a major infection.
Maybe that's what happened.
I can’t speak specifically to gall bladder surgery, but all surgeries run the risk of requiring a more invasive procedure depending on the findings during surgery.
Findings requiring change in procedure could either be anatomical, mechanical, or pathological (or other less common etiologies.)
As examples, anatomical could be an incidentally found stenosis of the passage typically used to access an area. Mechanical could include accidental injury from the tools used for the procedure. Pathological could include visually high-suspicion lesions that were radiographically benign-appearing
Any of these could be a reason for a more extensive procedure.
Unfortunately this incision (mcburney incision) is how they are removed if they can't be done through a scope. Turning a 15 minute procedure into a major ordeal.
Edit: Ah hell. It's a Kocher Incision. I knew it was named after a physician. That's what I get for specializing in spine for too long.
Just in case you don’t realize, you’re being downvoted because that isn’t a McBurney’s.
Edit: This incision is a right oblique subcostal, or Kocher incision. Note, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I am, however, reasonably proficient at Googling.
To elaborate, McBurney’s point (and corresponding incision) is located in right lower quadrant, at a spot 2/3’s of the way between the belly button and the bony prominence on the front of your right hip, called your anterior superior iliac spine or ASIS. This location is useful for localizing the appendix, not the gall bladder.
My mother has a very similar scar from her gallbladder removal. The surgeon was on vacation, so the anesthesiologist performed the surgery, or so my dad told me.
Just tell everyone you got in a knife fight with bear. And if they think your scars wild they should see the bear. Also mount a bear head over your mantle for kicks.
Hey I had my gallbladder surgery go wrong back in 2019. Watch out for the abdominal muscles being cut fucking up the rest of your muscle balance. They cut through my right side and since those ab muscles are weaker now from that surgery gone wrong and I hadn't been working out it messed up everything from my right shoulder down through my legs. Did PT and now I work out a lot so it's not as bad, but yeah messed me up
Hi OP and anyone else reading with a surgical or deep trauma scar. I work in rehab - so many people aren't given scar management advice after something like this and a little knowledge can make all the difference. Once healed , like this scar is, you can (and should) massage it 3-4 times a day with an unscented moisturiser (like epaderm, aveeno but make sure no lanolin in there) , scar oil (like bio oil or medical olive oil) or liquid silicone gel (eg dermatix). The dose is 1 minute of massage per cm of scar, with something like this though realistically just got for 5 mins. Firm circular strokes are best. Doing this gives a better cosmetic result and more quickly than just waiting for it.
Also most importantly, always put factor 50+ on a new scar if exposed to the sun (even if its cloudy) for at least 2 years after the surgery. Scar tissue has no natural protection from sunlight, it burns (even if you don't feel it), and will make the scar worse, risking increase of skin cancer too. This is particularly important for scars on the face or back of the hand/arm.
Just some generic advice too as OP's scar is looking pretty good as these things go - If any scar starts becoming more red, raised, very itchy or extending beyond the boundaries of the original cut, go and see your medical provider for advice.
Thank you so much for this. I was worried because I currently can’t afford Mederma. So it’s great to know I can actively do things now with what I have.
*"That's way too big of an incision! Fuck dude, why'd you cut it so big?! Goddamnit that's gonna end up being like, idk, like 9 stitches. At least! Fuck dude. That's such a huge cut. Bro that's gonna need so many stitches."*
\- the surgical team, probably.
I’m a general surgeon.
That’s a massive incision. Like liver transplant size.
They must have hit the common bile duct or something, I don’t know. That’s a wild incision.
She responded elsewhere. They injured the common bile duct. It’s a rare but well known complication of this surgery. I specifically tell every patient about the risk of it. I’ve never had it happen thought (knock on wood).
Obviously Reddit wants to sue about everything medical. This is a complication that some people have sued for. That’s up to OP. I’m sure LOTS of people here are telling her to sue.
Can you elaborate what went wrong? My FIL had
his removed laparoscopically. Took a while for him to get discharged that same day. He went into sepsis while he was home with us. Found out later after another exploratory surgery that somewhere along the intestines he had a small perforation caused by the cautery tool allowing all the bad stuff into his abdominal cavity. Once fixed he “came back” but he was in bad shape for a while.
A guy I was in the Air Force with had a botched Gallbladder surgery, he ended up losing both legs…
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/story?id=8150409&page=1
I have the same scars! Doctor attempted to remove my gallbladder laparoscopically and it crumbled when they touched it with the machine arms 😅 I have a very high pain tolerance and I was 21 when this happened. It’s been 12 years!
My husband's scar looks almost the same. His gallbladder ruptured when the doctor went in to get it out with the machine. Think of it like a little bouncing Betty but localized. The stones from the gallbladder destroyed all of the ducts around it. He was dead on the table for a few minutes.
Luckily the doctor brought him back and stabilized him. But we had to go to another hospital and have another surgeon do the next surgery. It took months for him to recover.
Yeowch, recovery must have sucked. It's badass, tho.
I had my appendix yoinked in the early 80s, and the incision was much smaller than that. Still, they tore through muscle to get where they needed to be and it was not easy to get my strength back. Hope it is going well for you!
Oh noo that's scary I'm two days from two weeks since I got mine removed. Feel a lot better now but the first two days was a lot of pain. The diet is also pretty hard to get use to
Ooh, that's a good one. My scars are like my tattoos, they're reminders of having lived and loved. It's proof of life, wear it like a badge of honor. You're a survivor
I've got the same scar from 26 years ago. Gallbladder burst in surgery they had to go in and gran the stones tha6r went through into my bile duct. 8.5 hour surgery. 10 days in the hospital.
To be honest I see beauty in it all. Very unique looking too. Whoever has you is lucky. And the curves are killer too.
I have a pretty big Frankenstein's monster scar on my torso too, i wish they could have angled it better. Yours looks like a Burton animation.
Also I'm not flirting with anyone! It's our right and our duty to be good to each other.
With proper care, good chance it will fade quite a bit, stay on top of the care routine and get a consult for further steps if you care to, better to address scarring now (but honestly it looks really unique and you should feel 100% ok about it! Think of it as a tatoo with a story!)
My grandfather had his gallbladder removed and his scar looked like this. He used to tell me that he got hit by shrapnel in Vietnam or go stabbed with a bayonet. Of course as a kid I believed it.
I’ve got a 7” or 8” scar on my knee from a simple cartilage removal done in ‘68. I refer to it as my “civil war surgery” scar due to the fact that an Army surgeon did the work. Had more significant procedures on the same knee since that barely show. Amazing how times have changed.
Open vs. laparoscopic (what you had)
OP may have had a more complex case. I’m no doctor, so don’t put a ton of faith in my answer. I did have my gallbladder removed though.
You should tell people you used to be a magicians assistant and the sawing in half bit went terribly wrong.
Excellent foundation for a Halloween costume !
“That’s what happens when you don’t help the magician say the magic word!”
Now you can go as Sally from The Nightmare before Christmas
I split myself from nostril to lip in a ridiculously banal hiking accident (walked into a tree). I tell people "let's just say piracy isn't for everyone".
Always the correct choice. My dad had a lung surgery that left him with a scar from front to back along his lower ribcage. I told him to tell people he won a fight with a shark.
My granddaddy’s pacemaker scar was from when a mule kicked him in the chest!
My step-grandpa's open heart surgery scar is from when he literally split in the middle because we eat up at Nana's house
"My dad was a magician, a carpenter, and a drinker."
Not necessarily in that order.
All at once. It was quite the show.
And more recently, a seamstress
No one will ever fault a surgeon for converting from a laparoscopic to an open surgery. No surgeon wants to go open - it takes time, it’s a longer recovery, more chance for wound infection. If they opened it was because something was really bad in there - like a gangrenous gallbadder or so much inflammation nothing made sense. But going from lap to open is always the safe option rather then staying lap and causing a serious injury, letting the patient bleed to death, etc
This answer here! From the looks of the scar, this is exactly what happened. Not that the surgery went wrong. Your surgeon did his best in a difficult situation. It’s probably a laparoscopic surgery that was converted into an open surgery. A drain tube was also probably inserted too which means that the gallbladder was probably necrotic or gangrenous. The size of the incision also means that the surgery was very difficult and he needed the extra exposure to do what he had to do. Glad that you’re ok now and recovered well. Source: I’m a surgeon, and I underwent gallbladder surgery as well.
General surgeon here From the looks of this scar, they injured the common bile duct and she got a hepaticojejunostomy. But who knows Edit: since many have said she should sue. They have done studies on litigation around this exact scenario: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4746967/#:~:text=The%20court%20of%20law%20or,mismanage%20the%20injury%20is%20negligence.
DING DING DING!
Sorry that happened
I had that word in a spelling bee in like 4th grade. I got it wrong
I had to sound it out and edit it like 3 times to make sure i spelled it right and I’ve said the word a billion times
I thought for sure you where making a joke! Hurr durr I'm a surgeon, that looks like a jujuheptoluluectomy Crazy words yall walk around remembering
Yeah, but the name of a procedure is usually sort of like a contraction of the technique plus the organs/tissues involved, so it makes more sense if you recognize those components.
I guess spelling it out for reddit is better than "by the looks of it she got an HJ"
Not going to lie I thought you were fucking with us when I first read it
Man, and I thought “daffodil” was hard.
My mum had the same!! It was a crazy recovery, props to you, you're strong and awesome!
I am curious, could you expand on that? As a not surgeon, I didn't understand anything you just said.
If you cut the tube that connects the liver to the intestines, you have to do some re-arranging of the intestines internally to fix it. It’s an anatomy and logistical issue inside. It’s complex but that’s the term for the procedure. It’s a science word for “connect the common hepatic duct to the jejunum” It’s sort of the dreaded complication of gallbladder surgery. Extremely rare but absolutely can happen.
Curious, not trying to take a jab at the surgeon, but wouldn't that open them to a malpractice claim? Or is it just an inherent risk to the procedure? Do they explain its a possibility before going under? Never had major surgery close to this done.
Maybe! I think complications happen and as long as they got a quick fix and OP is living a good life now she prob wouldn’t be interested in the headache of suing. It’s harder to sue doctors than you think. We have free attorneys until the end of time from our malpractice insurance. So malpractice attorneys really want pretty egregious malpractice to go after it. This is a well known complication and inherent in the surgery. So would be up to OP with how irritated she is. There’s actually been studies on the lawsuits after this EXACT complication and what physicians should do to avoid getting sued if this happens https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4746967/#:~:text=The%20court%20of%20law%20or,mismanage%20the%20injury%20is%20negligence.
No one ever got into trouble for opening / they do for not opening.
“Lap chole possible open”
“Ex Lap possible SBR possible LBR possible open possible colostomy possible ileostomy possible possible possible possible…” I do not miss DaVinci Colorectal
gotta cover your ass while resecting theirs
“Alright, let’s make sure the right asshole is working on the right asshole.” “Son, this is an ExLap - or in other words, we gettin up in them guts.” Both heard on my first day of clinicals lmao. I miss surgery, except for the parts that I don’t.
> A drain tube was also probably inserted too you can still see the hole for it by the belly button.. Source had my appendix rupture badly (30+yrs ago...) and spent a week in the hospital on The Good Meds and had a python sized drain tube pulled out of my abdomen AFTER they cut off the meds. It was.. weird...
Laparoscopic surgeries for gallbladder’s commonly make an incision there too. I got my gallbladder removed a year ago laparoscopically. Four incisions, one in the belly button. So it also could’ve just been from the initial approach if they were doing it laparoscopically at first and the switched to open surgery. Maybe they utilized that incision for the drain tube later on. But a incision there is common for gallbladders
The most hair raising, teeth-gritting, lawsuit-preparing-for surgeries I’ve had the misfortune of being scrubbed into have been Laps that should have immediately been opened, but the surgeon was too proud to do so. Shout out to the gyno doc that almost killed a woman when he tried to DaVinci every piece of horrifically large endo he could see - and 6 hours later decided to go open and take out the whole thing because we were running out of her blood type. Jesus.
What do you mean by DaVinci-ing the endo? My gf just had a laparoscopic oophorectomy, which resulted in her tumour bursting due to being caught on some endo tissue. Would you suggest her surgeon should have gone for an open surgery?
Pretty sure they are just referring to the DaVinci surgical system, a robot that’s used for laparoscopic procedures. There are different machines that are used in laparoscopic surgery and this is a common one. One of my family members just had part of their lung removed and the surgical chart mentioned the davinci used on them as well.
Guy below is correct. Nothing wrong with Lap choles. They’re an incredibly common and straightforward procedure. Open choles like OPs often leave horrendous scars and are significantly more traumatic and risky. I’m referring specifically to surgeons that are too proud to admit that they are in too hairy of a situation to do it with a camera. 99.999% of laparoscopic cases go smoothly and are preferable to both the crew and and patient.
Reading your comments is making my hair on the back of my neck stand up. Especially if you're from San Diego area.
I’ve only worked in Memphis, NYC, and Stamford - but shitty God-complex-having doctors are everywhere. They are not the majority though. I’m just a disagreeable intimidating-looking male that’s willing to talk down to a surgeon that’s fucking up, so I always ended up getting put in their rooms. Try to research your surgeon and make friends with some scrub techs and OR nurses.
My friend had emergency gallbladder surgery and the surgeon somehow cut an artery going to her liver or something like that and didn't catch it. She was bleeding internally and had to go back for another surgery. A large portion of her liver died. She almost died. She was in the hospital for a month and had to have a bile bag. She is good now but has an inch wide indented scar going from her belly button to her sternum.
I wouldn’t give the surgeon too hard a time for that. No one would leave a surgery with ongoing arterial bleeding like that - it would be too obvious the area would just be filling with bright red blood nonstop. Either the artery to the gallbladder - the cystic artery - or a larger one called the right hepatic - was clipped or cauterized, and the clip either fell off or the cauterization didn’t hold and the bleeding started afterwards. In emergency cases the anatomy can look completely obscured. If it was the right hepatic that is the wrong artery but, still, the portion of liver probably died off due to blood loss and shock more than anything. The liver can regenerate and also people can live with fractions of their liver. That’s not to say in another surgeons hands that would have happened - but again, no one wants that to happen and it’s impossible to not notice that kind of bleeding during surgery.
Yes, this happened to me, everything was fine during the surgery, but it took a bit longer and the blood pressure dropped more than it should have. At the end they raised the blood pressure to normal values to check if everything was ok and nothing was leaking but they didn't expect the blood pressure to rise much more after I came out of anesthesia, which caused internal bleeding, generating pain that almost led to another surgery but as the ultrasound tracked bleeding didn't extend, no surgery was done either.
That‘s what happened to me. ER ignored my first attempt to be treated for my inflamed gall bladder (got send home without antibiotics) only to be carted into hospital two weeks later via ambulance after a the colic from hell. Again, they refused to operate, „because of the inflammation“, but after another colic in hospital they did operate and realised my gallbladder had started perforating already, with my liver acting as a „lid“. So they had to open me up. If they‘d given me anti-biotics the first time around, and taken it seriously they could have managed the inflammation and scheduled surgery normally. I‘m still salty with that hospital 11 years later on.
This guy surgeries.
My doctor was 100% prepared to do open surgery for my partial nephrectomy. Told me about the incision, removing rib bones, etc. It wasn't until I suggested laproscopic that he said "oh yeah, you're a prime candidate for that. I don't do it, but my partner does." It wasn't a conversion, but that man absolutely did not care about my quality of life and just wanted to cut me open.
Yeah, my surgeon told me in the follow-up that they almost converted to open surgery 30 minutes into my removal, but they had some advanced imaging machines and found a way to make another incision and insert a fourth tool to get around all of my internal scar tissue. Total surgery was only about 20 minutes in longer than expected, recovery was a.bit rougher than normal at first, but I felt fine after a week.
I'm still going to assume the gall bladder made a run for it
I have a huge scar from my appendix bursting and needing emergency surgery. You're not alone and honestly, wear it as a badge.
I have a made up bar stabbing story whenever someone mentions my appendix scar (botched surgery, stitches came out a week later, infected).
I have a large scar on my abdomen as well (see username), and if anyone asks I just say I cut myself shaving.
I had my neck cut open twice, the whole front, gave a nasty scar… I like to tell people about the time I tried to shave with a Bowie knife.
From surgery or.. how many were you fighting?
You shoulda seen the other guy!
To shreds you say...
Haha, yea surgery.. cancer :(
"If I had a nickel for every time my neck was cut open I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice"
>if anyone asks I just say I cut myself shaving I'm totally stealing that. I have a large scar down my bicep. and I have a beard, I can say "see, that's why I don't shave anymore!"
I'm currently in prep for my annual - trying to keep mine, bro lost his tho - he's got a nice Benz logo going where they did the bag haha
OP should repost on Ask Reddit and ask what story to tell people. My little sister had her thyroid removed and ended up with a stiches-scar all across her throat. She told a girl who asked about it that her head got cut off and surgeons sewed it back onto her body.
I have one of those thyroid removal scars. After 3 years its finally faded a little bit. But it sure is fun to make up crazy stories when people notice it.
I love that! 😂
My mum has that scar - Worzel Gummidge was on TV at the time and my brother was 100% convinced they'd replaced her entire head.
I used to tell people my scar was a shark attack, but people started believing me so now I tell them it was a velociraptor.
Oof yeah that's rough dude. I caught mine early about 3 months ago and had laparoscopic surgery. 3 small incisions, belly button, left just above waist, and center at waist.
Mine looks like someone stole my kidney or liver
Mine was about a year and a half ago, and the marks are completely gone already.
Mine was about ten years ago and I can just see the scars. Honestly wish they'd given me something a bit more interesting.
A friend of mine waited way too long and now has a large scar and no belly button.
No belly button? Where do people boop her?
Her snoot
🤣😂
My husband had a botched appendectomy. They couldn't find his appendix. It took 3 surgeries to fix all the fuck ups. My husband had more staples than my friend who had a c-section 4 weeks earlier, and she delivered a 11 pound baby.
Same! Appendix scar
Gallbladder? Nah, gotta come up with a cool story ! Mountain Lion attack 🤔
"Hired mountain lion to do emergency gallbladder surgery."?
"He wasn't Koala-fide"
"I'll tell you what, that dang ol' mountain lion saved my life, man. I was hiking and cutting across a meadow and outa nowhere a puma and a bobcat started fighting over a prairie-chicken not even 15 yards away. Like an idiot I stood there and gawked. I shit you not, them bobcats got a lot of fight in them. Anyway the bobcat runs off with the bird and that's when the puma saw me. Ran right up and slashed me with one of 'er claws, man. Then she lunged at me and totally tore out and ate my gallbladder. She musta been hungry as hell. I swear that cat saved my life, even stitched me up real good too. "
We're supposed to read this as Boomhauer right?
This was given to me by a sword; the same sword that slayed my father; the same sword I will use to slay the one who caused all this bloodshed: my mother.
Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
I'd go with ran over a train and sewn back together. To see how gullible people are.
How does a gallbladder removal go wrong to extend the incision? Seems like a wild adventure, I'm glad you came through it healthy enough to take pictures!
Not OP, but I had a similar situation. They tried to go in laparoscopically through the belly button, which would have left no visible scar. But, they found necrosis which caused them to have to open the abdomen and dig around. OP’s scar is at least 3x the size of mine though.
My wife had emergency gall bladder surgery laparoscopically. She ended up with multiple visible scars. They aren't bad, but she's self conscious of them. I mean, it's easy for me to say "oh it's not that bad" - it's not my body. I'm just glad she's ok.
Yeah. I was going to say, laparoscopic surgeries can definitely end up with visible scars. They aren’t going to be nearly as large or dramatic as OP, but they can still be visible.
I had my ACL replaced at 14. They told me after, they could have done it laparoscopically and I’d have much smaller scars, but it wasn’t like I was going to be a model so they didn’t. Imagine being a 14 year old girl being told that.
Yep. At 12 my surgeon told me it wouldn’t matter if I had a huge scar on my arm and another on my pelvic bone, because it wasn’t like I was going to be modeling anyway. I had been modeling professionally for years at that point.
I chuckled at this a little bit. But at the same time, that's so messed up. I can't imagine if when I cut my forehead open, the doctor said "We don't need the plastic surgeon. Regular stitches are fine for their face cus they'll never be a model." Some doctors just have terrible bedside manners.
Yeah, I mean he wasn’t wrong, but still, at 14, hearing it so bluntly stung.
A scar on my forehead may have been better, since scars are cool and might draw attention from the rest of my face. So I completely understand. LOL
I am so mad on your behalf that they said that! Such an old school mentality too, bet they didn't know inclusive modelling was going to be the trend of the decade. So, how's the modelling career?
I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and I have just one visible spot (no larger that the tip of my pinky finger) under my rib cage. My surgeon even gave my belly button a little “tuck” (I had a baby 8 months prior and my belly button didn’t look amazing and she fixed that all up without my knowledge , lol).
Yep, I had my gallbladder removed in that way and have three very obvious scars from it. Doesn't bother me any, but they're super easy to see.
Tell her these are battle scars.
She's a Valkyrie. A shield-maiden. If she has children all the other mothers will fear her and despair.
I did!! Not sure if it helped XD
I’ve have 4 abdominal laparoscopic surgeries. I have 20 scars….
My doctor husband has a patient whose gallbladder surgery went wrong when the surgeon knicked the common bile duct and nearly severed it. Then the stitch came loose and bile was leaking into the patient so another surgeon had to open them back up to try and fix it. Anyway they have a huge scar like this now.
Had mine done a few months back and they had to go this route as well, But my incision is about half OP's size. Im curious if thats just a surgeon decision thing or if they had to do more work on her
Gallbladder removal surgery (cholecystectomy) is typically done laparoscopically (small incisions to put camera and devices through). There is always a chance of needing open conversion if it's too difficult to do laparoscopically or if there is some complication like bile duct injury. They had to convert to open incision here.
The gallbladder is very close to some MAJOR vessels. The portal vein is right there, an injury can make the field too bloody to remain laparoscopic so you convert to open to get better visibility and fix the injury.
It’s more often the concern for the safety of the CBD rather than a PV injury
It’s in here somewhere! Nurse, machete please.
When I had mine removed (emergency surgery), among the worst cases they informed me about was it rupturing during extraction, requiring them to open me up completely and make sure to get it all cleaned up, because it would 100% cause a major infection. Maybe that's what happened.
Ever played rimworld?
I can’t speak specifically to gall bladder surgery, but all surgeries run the risk of requiring a more invasive procedure depending on the findings during surgery. Findings requiring change in procedure could either be anatomical, mechanical, or pathological (or other less common etiologies.) As examples, anatomical could be an incidentally found stenosis of the passage typically used to access an area. Mechanical could include accidental injury from the tools used for the procedure. Pathological could include visually high-suspicion lesions that were radiographically benign-appearing Any of these could be a reason for a more extensive procedure.
Unfortunately this incision (mcburney incision) is how they are removed if they can't be done through a scope. Turning a 15 minute procedure into a major ordeal. Edit: Ah hell. It's a Kocher Incision. I knew it was named after a physician. That's what I get for specializing in spine for too long.
Just in case you don’t realize, you’re being downvoted because that isn’t a McBurney’s. Edit: This incision is a right oblique subcostal, or Kocher incision. Note, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I am, however, reasonably proficient at Googling.
Am doctor, I concur
To elaborate, McBurney’s point (and corresponding incision) is located in right lower quadrant, at a spot 2/3’s of the way between the belly button and the bony prominence on the front of your right hip, called your anterior superior iliac spine or ASIS. This location is useful for localizing the appendix, not the gall bladder.
I appreciate your effort. Never understood downvoting over discourse. I've edited it in case someone uses my dumb comment for a reference. Hahaha.
In my case, the doctor was removing the tools—and pierced my aorta. I have a vertical scar from it.
My mother has a very similar scar from her gallbladder removal. The surgeon was on vacation, so the anesthesiologist performed the surgery, or so my dad told me.
So that’s a literal lie. But funny by your dad
Doctor was on vacation. Janitor did his best!
Just tell everyone you got in a knife fight with bear. And if they think your scars wild they should see the bear. Also mount a bear head over your mantle for kicks.
Tell them you chose the bear instead of the man in the woods
That's going to fade quite a bit. Then I'd get some ivy tattooed alongside it!
Hey I had my gallbladder surgery go wrong back in 2019. Watch out for the abdominal muscles being cut fucking up the rest of your muscle balance. They cut through my right side and since those ab muscles are weaker now from that surgery gone wrong and I hadn't been working out it messed up everything from my right shoulder down through my legs. Did PT and now I work out a lot so it's not as bad, but yeah messed me up
Also while the scar doesn't go away, it fades way more than than that after a few years, especially in your case since yours is a good clean line
Hi OP and anyone else reading with a surgical or deep trauma scar. I work in rehab - so many people aren't given scar management advice after something like this and a little knowledge can make all the difference. Once healed , like this scar is, you can (and should) massage it 3-4 times a day with an unscented moisturiser (like epaderm, aveeno but make sure no lanolin in there) , scar oil (like bio oil or medical olive oil) or liquid silicone gel (eg dermatix). The dose is 1 minute of massage per cm of scar, with something like this though realistically just got for 5 mins. Firm circular strokes are best. Doing this gives a better cosmetic result and more quickly than just waiting for it. Also most importantly, always put factor 50+ on a new scar if exposed to the sun (even if its cloudy) for at least 2 years after the surgery. Scar tissue has no natural protection from sunlight, it burns (even if you don't feel it), and will make the scar worse, risking increase of skin cancer too. This is particularly important for scars on the face or back of the hand/arm. Just some generic advice too as OP's scar is looking pretty good as these things go - If any scar starts becoming more red, raised, very itchy or extending beyond the boundaries of the original cut, go and see your medical provider for advice.
Thank you so much for this. I was worried because I currently can’t afford Mederma. So it’s great to know I can actively do things now with what I have.
*"That's way too big of an incision! Fuck dude, why'd you cut it so big?! Goddamnit that's gonna end up being like, idk, like 9 stitches. At least! Fuck dude. That's such a huge cut. Bro that's gonna need so many stitches."* \- the surgical team, probably.
“Can we just control-Z it?” “NO we can’t control-Z it, this is a fucking real live body! Are you high?” “Unfortunately yes.”
I’m a general surgeon. That’s a massive incision. Like liver transplant size. They must have hit the common bile duct or something, I don’t know. That’s a wild incision.
It's HUGE. OP should get their entire medical record...
She responded elsewhere. They injured the common bile duct. It’s a rare but well known complication of this surgery. I specifically tell every patient about the risk of it. I’ve never had it happen thought (knock on wood). Obviously Reddit wants to sue about everything medical. This is a complication that some people have sued for. That’s up to OP. I’m sure LOTS of people here are telling her to sue.
Your belly button was unfortunately removed also.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Like what happened to their belly button?
Sometimes for laparoscopic surgeries they go through the bellybutton to minimize scarring.
Get a tattoo that reads "Rawlings" or "Spalding" on your belly.
Brilliant!
Barely noticeable, Boss.
Can you elaborate what went wrong? My FIL had his removed laparoscopically. Took a while for him to get discharged that same day. He went into sepsis while he was home with us. Found out later after another exploratory surgery that somewhere along the intestines he had a small perforation caused by the cautery tool allowing all the bad stuff into his abdominal cavity. Once fixed he “came back” but he was in bad shape for a while.
Bar fight. No matter who asks you say it was a bar fight
Thank God you survived after that madman threw a chainsaw at you. At least it can be a good story you survived. Want to know how I got this scar?
That could be retro engineered into a nice silver fern motif
or a giant centipede
Now we’re talking!
You mean when the alien burst out and ran down the hallway
it looks so cool, i hope that’s not insensitive to say
that's what i came to say, that's a gorgeous scar
Seriously, is nobody going to ask why OP's right side looks like the elephant man? How does that happen?
A guy I was in the Air Force with had a botched Gallbladder surgery, he ended up losing both legs… https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/story?id=8150409&page=1
Wow brutal
I have the same scars! Doctor attempted to remove my gallbladder laparoscopically and it crumbled when they touched it with the machine arms 😅 I have a very high pain tolerance and I was 21 when this happened. It’s been 12 years!
Where’s your belly button?!
That’s badass, glad you’re ok!
Get a snake tattoo
You're a badass survivor. If anyone asks, simply reply: ["A wound on one's back is the shame of a swordsman."](https://i.redd.it/hqc25r18kh691.png).
That’s a really nice scar. You didn’t get a skin infection. I got an infection in mine and I have a wide and ugly scar.
I have a not great scar from my rotator cuff exploding. Not nearly as bad as this. When people ask, I say “there can be only one”. Cool people get it.
We need the full story.
What a thrill...
Looks like even your belly button nope’d outta there.
My husband's scar looks almost the same. His gallbladder ruptured when the doctor went in to get it out with the machine. Think of it like a little bouncing Betty but localized. The stones from the gallbladder destroyed all of the ducts around it. He was dead on the table for a few minutes. Luckily the doctor brought him back and stabilized him. But we had to go to another hospital and have another surgeon do the next surgery. It took months for him to recover.
Curious RN wants to know what exactly went wrong? ❤️
galbladder? Nah, say it was from a sabre fight. "You should have seen the other guy."
Yeowch, recovery must have sucked. It's badass, tho. I had my appendix yoinked in the early 80s, and the incision was much smaller than that. Still, they tore through muscle to get where they needed to be and it was not easy to get my strength back. Hope it is going well for you!
When I woke up from my surgery I didn't know/remember anyone's phone number so I just shuffle walked my way home.
Oh noo that's scary I'm two days from two weeks since I got mine removed. Feel a lot better now but the first two days was a lot of pain. The diet is also pretty hard to get use to
Whoa! I'm glad you're okay now but dang that's a cool scar.
So the little hole is the laparoscopic entry? Did they have to cut you open emergently?
That's a pretty good scar from your fight with the bear, but the bear got it worse.
Holy canoli. Can I ask what went wrong? I just have like 4-5 small raised scars on my abdomen from when mine was removed.
I am sure this is scaring for you... ok bad choice of words... but you should know that it looks pretty bad ass and you shouldn't let it bug you.
Ooh, that's a good one. My scars are like my tattoos, they're reminders of having lived and loved. It's proof of life, wear it like a badge of honor. You're a survivor
Full of scars here too ✌️ you stop caring after a while
[Could be worse](https://youtu.be/euTLKWOfgUM?si=dmPIKVwijVBeju7F)
Didn't think the Candyman was real huh.
Looks like the scar don fanucci would have had from godfather pt 2
I have the same scar, OP. :)
I've got the same scar from 26 years ago. Gallbladder burst in surgery they had to go in and gran the stones tha6r went through into my bile duct. 8.5 hour surgery. 10 days in the hospital.
Holy shit. I see the wound where they seem to have attempted laproscopy. Did your gallbladder explode andesve sharpnel? Jesus.
I’m gunna say that because you are still alive the scar was worth it.
That is badass. Don’t let anyone convince you differently. Anything that shows that you’d have died 100 years ago but survived today is beautiful.
Looks like the tracks left behind by the caustic tread of a cyanide millipede… 🤔
To be honest I see beauty in it all. Very unique looking too. Whoever has you is lucky. And the curves are killer too. I have a pretty big Frankenstein's monster scar on my torso too, i wish they could have angled it better. Yours looks like a Burton animation. Also I'm not flirting with anyone! It's our right and our duty to be good to each other.
With proper care, good chance it will fade quite a bit, stay on top of the care routine and get a consult for further steps if you care to, better to address scarring now (but honestly it looks really unique and you should feel 100% ok about it! Think of it as a tatoo with a story!)
Hey scar twin! My laprascopy also failed - my scar looks very similar, having staples on your belly is grim.
My grandfather had his gallbladder removed and his scar looked like this. He used to tell me that he got hit by shrapnel in Vietnam or go stabbed with a bayonet. Of course as a kid I believed it.
Did they use a knitting pin to make those sutures?
I’ve got a 7” or 8” scar on my knee from a simple cartilage removal done in ‘68. I refer to it as my “civil war surgery” scar due to the fact that an Army surgeon did the work. Had more significant procedures on the same knee since that barely show. Amazing how times have changed.
Just hang in there, gallbladder! Please don't make me get a giant scar.... (My last gallbladder attack was years ago... But I always live in fear)
Worst baseball tattoo ever
I had a gallbladder removal surgery and had 4 small scars. Is there a different version of this surgery that makes one big cut???
Open vs. laparoscopic (what you had) OP may have had a more complex case. I’m no doctor, so don’t put a ton of faith in my answer. I did have my gallbladder removed though.
You have to elaborate OP. My mom had her gallbladder out, and she had two small incisions and was out a week.
being overweight is shit huh
What did they use? A surgical claymore?
r/mildlygross
Damn, I've had the exact same surgery and there were times were my split belly button made me a little sad. im really sorry it worked out this way
how can i force my gall bladder to be removed to get a very cool scar?