Metal Gall Bladder surgery suture?

By | In: Disc Herniation | 2 Comments

2 April 2011

Question by Dog Rescuer: Metal Gall Bladder surgery suture?
Recently I received an x-ray of my spine..Upon reviewing it with the doctor for scoliosis..I asked if there were any Bone spurs ..As we looked the x-ray over together he said there were none…

Then I pointed to a corkscrew shaped twisted shape on my x-ray…He said .”.Ahh that..You had some kind of surgery”..I said. ” no just a gall bladder taken out through lapriscopy surgery “..

.I then asked “Is it metal?? ” He said , “it looks like metal because it;’s dense.”..The Doctor who did the surgery 4 years ago NEVER asked me if I had a problem with metal poisoning which I do!!!!!

Is this a common procedure to use metal to close an incision internally?? What kind of metal could it be? Would the plastic fishing line kind of thread show up on an x-ray?How can I find out what i was sutured with?

Anyone with knowledge of what types of materials are used for gall bladder removal…Any help or info would be greatly appreciated….

Best answer:

Answer by Starry Eyed
Contact the doctor who performed the surgery. They should be able to pull your file and see what was used in you. I had my colon removed 10 years ago and recently saw the metal I was left with after a visit to the chiropractor. I asked my mom (she is a Nurse Practitioner) if they left something in me or what they could be (I had three spots that showed up). She told me that metal sutures are used in all bowel surgeries and that they are generally about $ 2500 each. I have a lot of money tied up in my tummy!

If you haven’t noticed any symptoms of the metal poisoning, then I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It was four years ago, I am sure that something would have happened to you by now.

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2 User Comments : Share your thoughts

  1. Reply
    Equisetum April 2, 2011 at 2:17 am

    It’s very common in a laparoscopic gall bladder removal to use a metal staple to close off the duct the connects the gall bladder to the rest of the biliary tree. It is very difficult to tie a knot inside the abdomen laparoscopically…your instruments are two or three clamps on rigid sticks, and you can only see what you’re doing on a TV screen. They use nonreactive metal for the staples, such as titanium.
    Plastic sutures don’t show up on x-ray. Many of the fishing-line type sutures they use are actually absorbed by the body after a period of weeks or months.

  2. Reply
    olympics junkie April 2, 2011 at 2:39 am

    Any metal used in surgeries is most likely either surgical stainless steel or titanium, neither of which should be a problem for you..

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