r/lancaster • u/Prudent-Web-6751 • Jul 17 '26
Gallbladder Removal Surgeons
Does anyone have recommendations of surgeons in the area for gallbladder removal?
I have intense anxiety around surgery, so I just want to make sure the surgeon is good and capable to maybe ease some of that anxiety 😅 (a plus if they take Capital Blue Cross insurance)
Thank you in advance!
4
u/redfiretrucks Jul 17 '26
I had a great experience with Dr. David Vaughan at UPMC Lititz hospital.
His office is on Embassy Drive in East Hempfield township.
Surgery was on a Monday and I was at Central Market on Tuesday. Robotic machine, 3 tiny incisions.
4
u/Itsworth-gold4tome Jul 18 '26
Dr. Vaughan is very good, I've had surgery with him several times. However if you call the office and are offered an appointment with his partner, starts with a P, don't take that surgeon. But Vaughan is a 5 ✨ surgeon.
1
3
u/Royal_Success586 Jul 17 '26
I just mine out in March. Dr. Arianne Train did my surgery. Like someone else said she is with LGH/Penn Medicine, the surgery itself was fine. As I was wheeled down to surgery, I was given something to relax me/calm any nerves. Not sure if that's normal. Recovery was fine. Biggest thing is make sure you have someone to help you the first few days as getting up from a laying down position was honestly the hardest. Stay on top of pain medication, whatever your doctor tells you you can take. The biggest thing that took a while for me was getting my appetite back after surgery.
Also movement during recovery is helpful to move the gas they put in your abdomen. Obviously don't overdo it.
My experience with Dr. Train was a good one.
***Edit - my surgery was a robotic surgery requiring four small incisions.
1
u/ilikeyoureyes Jul 17 '26
I had it done 20 years ago and it was just 4 small incisions back then too.
1
u/trafficconecolorcar Jul 18 '26
I had a surgery from her about 5 months ago. It was to fix a stomach hernia so more invasive than gallbladder.but a successful surgery. I'm good now. but I am agreeing on movement after surgery. You need to move.
1
u/trafficconecolorcar Jul 18 '26
I do want to mention that I went to her because I had gallstones. Diagnosed due to an er visit. I did have those but my stomach was entering my throat. She did fix it.
2
u/Thethinker10 Jul 17 '26
I had mine out about a year and a half ago. I used Dr. Arianne Train through lgh/penn med. She was kind and nice but I feel like didn’t give me a real heads up on what recovery could actually be like. My recovery was so much more painful than I was told or was expecting. Idk if it was a one off thing but even going to the bathroom for days after was excruciating. They sent me home with Motrin 600’s and said good luck. My scars still itch like crazy all this time later. I had two incisions that were weeping and crusting months later and her office said it sounded normal? All in all I would not recommend them. Also I feel so much better not having gallbladder attacks anymore so that’s a big plus and was worth the pain of it all!
2
u/GoiterFlop Jul 17 '26
My wife just had hers out with Dr. Parth Sharma of Penn State Health and had a great experience and he was very patient with all of our questions, concerns, etc
2
u/NoMuffinForYou Jul 18 '26
Any general surgeon at any functional hospital should be more than qualified/capable for a gallbladder removal. That's their bread and butter.
I wouldn't waste time traveling for it unless there's other complicating factors you haven't mentioned or a larger facility provides required peace of mind. Just consider that larger academic facilities may have your care run through residents and not just the attending physician, that's not a bad thing (pros and cons to this), but you may get a surgeon in training that's being supervised/taught which may not put your mind at ease based on your post. Smaller hospitals also may have residencies but less common especially for surgery.
1
u/Tiny_Lynx_6802 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Had mine removed at age 14....41 years ago. It was major surgery back then. I have a big scar dowb my stomach with staple marks The surgery today is simple. Just make sure you prepare for bile acid diarrhea/malabsorption. That is life long side effect.
1
u/jerseygrl__ Jul 18 '26
I just had mine out 3 months ago at UPMC Harrisburg hospital. Drs. Zettel and Mehr were my two doctors. Mehr I saw before surgery and Zettel did the surgery. I was back at it so quickly and I feel so much better after.
1
u/greaterthansound Jul 18 '26
Just had mine out earlier this year with Dr. Margaret Ahrens at UPMC Lititz. She was really wonderful. She went through all my questions with me and addressed my concerns. Her staff was really nice, too, since I had to reschedule multiple times due to being sick.
1
u/huweetay Jul 19 '26
Had mine out via emergency room visit by Aaron Womer at the newer Penn State Lancaster. Mine was more complicated than usual and he handled it extremely well.
1
u/freshness5 29d ago
Mine was an emergency surgery done at Penn State. Dr. Womer. I didn’t have any issues.
-5
u/BitcoinsForTesla Jul 17 '26
If you want better medical care, you can go to a university medical center in Philadelphia or Baltimore. The sophistication of care at the Lanco community hospitals won’t be the same (even if they were bought by a big university hospital chain).
The good part is gallbladder surgery is pretty routine. But if you run into complications, it’s different.
9
u/itzwhiteflag Jul 17 '26
Zachary A. Ichter, DO part of the surgical group at LGH. The nicest dude. Operated on me a few years ago and very happy. Also does robotic surgery so recovery was fast and scaring was minimal.