The General Surgery and Digestive System service at Parc Taulí has implemented an innovative technique in the field of digestive surgery: a single intervention to extract stones (lithiasis) in the gallbladder and bile duct when they occur simultaneously. In fact, up to 15% of people with gallbladder stones also have them in the bile duct.
The innovative technique implemented in Parc Taulí, called “one-step approach” o treatment at a time, allows the gallbladder to be removed (cholecystectomy) through laparoscopy and the bile duct to be explored and any stones to be removed in a single surgery. If the stones in the bile duct are of considerable size, lithotripsy (treatment to break up solid masses) may be necessary to break them up and thus remove them. However, the patient only has to undergo a single surgical procedure and, consequently, a single anesthesia and a single admission.
Traditionally, patients with bile duct and gallbladder stones had to undergo two separate procedures. First, they had to undergo an endoscopy to remove the bile duct stones, and then surgery to remove the gallbladder. This resulted in a long wait for definitive treatment, complications between the two procedures, and patients had to undergo two hospital admissions.
The Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery team at Parc Taulí, made up of Dr. Natalia Bejarano, Dr. Francisco García Borobia, Dr. Neus García Monforte, Dr. Núria Llorach and Dr. Andreu Romaguera, has performed more than 150 interventions using this technique. They also estimate that around 50 patients could benefit from it annually. “As a service, our goal is to be able to progress in the implementation of this procedure and, therefore, offer it to all patients who are candidates”, explains Dr. Bejarano. Likewise, the implementation “represents a commitment to guarantee more patient-centered care that combines safety and efficiency”.
This innovative technique not only improves the patient experience and safety - as stated by the latest scientific studies focused on this procedure - but also allows a more efficient use of healthcare resources by reducing the number of tests, emergency room visits and days of hospitalization. To do this, the hospital has a healthcare staff trained and highly qualified in advanced laparoscopic surgery.