When I was 54 I had emergency gallbladder surgery after a 3 day gall bladder attack. I was told my recovery would be more difficult than it would have if I’d had a scheduled, routine removal because I was exhausted and run down from the attack. I had the surgery on a Thursday and stayed overnight because I reacted a bit to the anesthesia by vomiting. Otherwise, it would have been a same day surgery and I would have gone home by 5 pm. By the time I went home Friday, 24 hours after the actual surgery, I felt fine. I never took the pain pills that they gave me just in case. I was a little weak, but no pain at all. Stomach was a just bit sore, as though I'd strained the muscles a little in exercising.

I went back to my full-time desk job on Wednesday morning, six days after the surgery. I was tired at the end of the day, but had zero pain.

Forty years ago, I took care of my aunt after her traditional GB surgery. She wasn’t able to return to half days on her kindergarten teaching job until ten weeks after her surgery.

What a wonderful advancement in modern surgery techniques!