Gallbladder Removal Abroad: Lithuania
Price in GBP
Price in EUR
- Gallbladder removal surgery – 1.800 £
Detailed pricing explanation in the next tab
- consultation with the surgeon and anaesthesiologist
- all the necessary health tests before and after the surgery
- surgery
- anaesthesia
- hospital stay (1-3 days) with 24 hours medical care
- 24/7 personal assistance during your stay
- 10% discount for plastic surgery later (if needed)
Please note that the price of the surgery itself is provisional and may be accurately assessed only after the evaluation of each individual case.
The default currency at our clinic is EUR, so if you were looking at prices in GBP it may vary depending on GBP / EUR exchange rate at the moment of payment.
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Refund from NHS & HSE
The clinic helps patients with the documents needed to claim a refund from NHS & HSE for medical treatment abroad. It applies to patients who are insured under the UK and Irish systems and may not get the surgery due to long waiting times.
Our surgeon
- Our surgeon Linas Venclauskas with over 15 years’ of experience
- Specialises in minimally invasive surgery, surgical treatment of the upper gastrointestinal tract and bariatric surgery
- Associate Professor at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences
- President of the Kaunas Society of Surgeons
- A member of the European Hernia Society
- Chairman of the Lithuanian Society of Hernia Surgery
What sets us apart from other clinics?
The clinic is equipped with modern diagnostic and surgical facilities, all analogous to those in Western European clinics. You will be looked after by professional English speaking staff. The wards are fully furnished and equipped with TV, WC and air conditioning. Free Wi-Fi is available while staying in the clinic.
Our clinic is one of the biggest surgical centres in the Baltic region. We work with patients from various countries, among which Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, etc.
Despite the size of the clinic we provide our patients with personal care and assistance. The majority of big public hospitals due to high volume of patients do not have enough resources and medical personnel to pay personal attention to each patient. Whereas we are fully focused on providing exceptional care and undivided attention for our patients.
The patients are provided postoperative care at the clinic without any additional fees. Your hospital stay may take up to 4 days. The surgeon only discharges our patients when they are in a good health state and ready to leave. This is contrary to the majority of clinics that tend to discharge patients one day after the surgery or even on surgery day.
Our clinic is flexible date-wise and can usually arrange your surgery on the date convenient for you.
Everyone in our clinic speaks English, including customer service desk, nurses, assistants and the surgeon.
Our clinic is the only clinic in Europe that offers customer service in 8 languages, among which English, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Spanish, Russian, and Lithuanian.
2-3 hour regular flights operate from all main airports in the UK & Ireland. Lithuania is closer than you thought. You can find the list of direct flights here. Please note that airlines constantly add new flights and new destinations, therefore feel free to contact us if you need help choosing the flight that suits you best.
Our clinic operates strictly according to international standards. Therefore, contrary to most of the commercially oriented clinics in the region, we advise patients with lower BMI of non-surgical procedures. Dr Maleckas approves patients after a thorough evaluation of each case.
Lithuania has been a part of the EU and NATO since 2004. Lithuania has one of the fastest growing economies in the whole region and the second fastest internet speed in the world. Lithuanian medical schools have trained many medical professionals who are highly appreciated and employed by many foreign hospitals, among which hospitals in the UK.
COVID-19 situation in Lithuania
Lithuania has one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 cases in Europe. Its rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100.000 residents in the last 14 days is more than 10 times lower than UK. You can read the latest COVID-19 updates here.
Direct flights to Lithuania
What is cholecystectomy, or gallbladder removal surgery?
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the gold standard technique for treating gallbladder diseases in both acute and elective surgery, when gallbladder, a pear-shaped sac situated on the inferior surface of the liver, is removed. Anatomically gallbladder is divided into fundus, body and neck, which is linked to the bile ducts. Its main function is to store and collect bile which plays an important role in fat digestion and absorption, and serves as a means for excreting several important waste products from blood, such as bilirubin, an end product of hemoglobin destruction, and cholesterol excess. Gallbladder removal surgery is commonly performed when there is an inflammation present inside the gallbladder causing moderate to severe pain and directly affecting the quality of a patient’s life.
When is gallbladder removal necessary?
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is indicated for patients with symptomatic gallbladder disease who can tolerate general anesthesia, including patients with calcified gallbladder. Gallbladder diseases refer to a great variety of medical conditions that affect gallbladder, and are usually associated with some particular physical symptoms. Some of widely prevailed symptoms among potential cholecystectomy patients are:
- Biliary colic, also known as gallbladder attack, which is defined as episodes of severe intermittent peaks of pain in the upper middle or right part of the abdomen, and last from a few minutes to several hours.
- Jaundice, which is yellowing of the skin and sclera from accumulation of yellow bile pigment bilirubin in the blood and tissues.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Palpable tenderness in the upper right abdominal area.
All of these distinct symptoms are usually provoked by the presence of gallstones inside the gallbladder. As gallstones pass through the bile ducts, they obstruct the tubes that carry bile from liver to gallbladder and further into the small intestine. Any blockage in the biliary system results in stasis of bile and may cause acute or chronic inflammation of the gallbladder, better known as cholecystitis. The management of symptomatic acute or chronic cholecystitis requires surgical removal of the gallbladder. Moreover, gallstone pancreatitis, better known as inflammation of pancreas, may be severe and accompanied by serious complications but its recurrences are prevented by cholecystectomy.
In order to precisely determine the necessity for surgery, an ultrasound examination of the gallbladder is used as the initial diagnostic procedure because in addition to sludge and stones, it can also detect tenderness over the gallbladder. As ultrasound examination does not give accurate information on the exact site of the abdomen, further investigation with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is required.
How is the surgery performed?
Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery, also known as “keyhole surgery”, is facilitated by inflating peritoneal cavity with CO2, a noncombustible gas. Although CO2 is systemically absorbed during the procedure, the advantages of reduced postoperative pain far outweigh any potentially deleterious effects of temporarily elevated levels of CO2 in the blood. A single camera port and a number of operating ports are placed, through which the specially designed instruments are used to manipulate the intra abdominal contents. This way only a few tiny cuts are needed for a gallbladder to be successfully removed.
As successful as a standard 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy is, a great variety of alternatives and improvements have been applied in clinical practice so far. The most prevalent alternative surgical techniques include robotic-assisted cholecystectomy, mini-laparoscopic cholecystectomy (which differs from a standard laparoscopic gallbladder removal only in size of surgical instruments), single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy and natural orifice cholecystectomy (during which the abdominal cavity is accessed through natural openings of a body, e. g. anal canal).
What preparation is needed for this surgery?
A proper preparation for cholecystectomy does not differ significantly from preparations for any other intermediate or low surgical risk procedure. However, when acute inflammation is present, the surgery may be postponed until clinically relevant symptoms, such as fever, fatigue etc. are stabilized with intravenous fluids and antibiotics.
Here are some major recommendations that should be taken into account in order to reduce risk of perioperative complications and speed up the recovery:
If cholecystectomy is scheduled in advance, a patient should be encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle before the procedure. Having one‘s diet balanced and staying hydrated strengthen the body and the immune system. However, when gallstones are present even mild exercises can provoke biliary colic due to stones moving inside the bile ducts.
Tobacco products and alcohol should be avoided for as long as possible before the procedure. Chemical compounds inhaled with smoke contribute to clot forming processes inside the blood stream, which deteriorates tissue perfusion with oxygen. Moreover, alcohol consumption damages liver and so the symptoms of pre-existing gallbladder disease may worsen.
In order to prevent perioperative complications, taking aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs and other blood thinners should be avoided before the procedure, unless the operating doctor has advised differently.
In order to properly assess the surgery risk and plan the prophylactic treatment of comorbid conditions, which might complicate or adversely affect the procedure it is vitally important to inform the doctors about your allergies, previous surgeries and pre-existing conditions that require daily usage of drugs.
Recovery after gallbladder removal surgery (what to expect?)
General recovery after cholecystectomy usually takes about 1-3 weeks.
The duration of post-op hospitalisation depends entirely on the patient’s health status. The patient may even be discharged the same day after the surgery if no complications are present.
A patient can usually return to work 1 week after the surgery, if the operating doctor has not advised differently.
It is advised not to soak in a bathtub until the stitches or staples are removed and the incision sites are healed. One may take a shower the day after the procedure if not advised differently by the doctor.
Patients are strongly discouraged from consuming alcohol and using tobacco products, especially while taking any kind of prescribed drugs after the surgery, for they may provoke some toxic side effects and complications could develop.
Life without the gallbladder
There are many misconceptions and myths about life after gallbladder removal surgery. Truth to be told, it is not as complicated as many people imagine. Gallbladder is a sac to store substances that are produced by liver, and may later be used for food to be digested in the small intestine. Once the gallbladder is removed, bile cannot be stored and so digestion of fatty foods may become a bit more complicated, as there is only a certain amount of bile that may be excreted into the intestines at a time. For this reason, in the first few weeks after the surgery it is advised to gradually add more diverse foods back into one’s diet and skip high-fat foods in order for the gastrointestinal tract to comfortably adjust to the changes. Later on these recommendations may vary depending on one’s personal state of health.
Common myths about gallbladder removal surgery
As significant as gallbladder is, it does not play a vitally important role in the process of food digestion. Therefore, after a total gallbladder removal our body is able to function just as well as in its presence. Here are some widely spread myths and facts about what happens when gallbladder is removed:
Our clinic
Personal assistance in Lithuania
We will advise you on travel arrangements including flights to and from Lithuania. We will take care of airport pick up and drop off and arrange a pleasant stay in a comfortable hotel at a convenient location. We will be there for you 24/7 if needed.
*Please note that each case is individual and the results may vary.
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