The real question is why so many pre, peri, and post menopausal women elect to have their gallbladders removed without proper justification?
This often unnecessary surgery has been all the rage for many years now. Let’s take a peek behind this curtain to see what dynamic has evolved which compels people to give up an organ which serves a very important purpose.
First, do you have any idea how many cholecystectomies are performed each year? More than 750,000 according to The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. That’s a LOT of removed gallbladders. At that rate 7.5 million will be extracted over a ten year period.
“Cholecystectomy ( /ˌkɒləsɪsˈtɛktəmi/; plural: cholecystectomies) is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. It is the most common method for treating symptomatic gallstones. Surgical options include the standard procedure, called laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and an older more invasive procedure, called open cholecystectomy.” (Per Wikipedia – Cholecystectomy)
The most significant factoid above is that gallbladder removal “is the most common method for treating symptomatic gallstones.” Can you believe that? The average American liver has between 500 and 4000 gallstones and an entire organ is extracted because one or two might be clogging up the gallbladder. Continue reading