Severed Bile Duct During Gallbladder Surgery
If your bile duct was severed during gallbladder surgery, it is very likely that you have been the innocent victim of medical negligence. Please get in touch with us today to talk to a solicitor about claiming compensation.
Gallbladder surgery
The removal of the gallbladder is a common procedure. It is commonly carried out to treat painful gallstones. Human beings do not need their gallbladder and can live perfectly well without it.
The gallbladder sits just beneath the liver and is attached to the cystic duct, which is attached to the common bile duct. The bile duct consists of a number of tube-like structures. Together they transport bile from the liver (where bile is made) to the small intestine, where it is used during the digestion of food.
While carrying bile from the liver to the small intestine, some bile is directed towards the gallbladder, which acts as a bile reservoir. Nevertheless, this is not a crucial function and if a patient develops painful gallstones, the gallbladder can be removed.
Bile duct injuries
When the gallbladder is surgically removed, the tube that connects the gallbladder and the bile duct must be sealed with clips. This will ensure bile does not leak into the abdominal cavity.
However, this procedure does place the bile duct in a vulnerable position, and bile duct injuries do happen during gallbladder removals. A patient should be warned of this risk before signing a consent form.
Failure to detect bile duct injuries
If the bile duct is damaged during surgery, it is important doctors recognise the injury and repair it straight away.
Sadly this does not always happen. In some extreme cases the entire bile duct is severed during surgery, only for the patient to be discharged from hospital without the problem being diagnosed. This will lead to a patient becoming extremely unwell, with symptoms including a swollen painful stomach, a high temperature and jaundice.
Although the bile duct may be surgically reconnected, it is possible that a patient will continue to suffer with complications. He/she will also have to undergo a second operation, which would have been avoided, had the injury been diagnosed and repaired at the time.
Contact a solicitor today
Failure to recognise an injury as serious as a severed bile duct will amount to medical negligence. If something similar has happened to you, please contact us to talk to a solicitor about claiming compensation.
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