Surgery usually involves a hospital stay of 2 to 4 days or longer. Most people can return to their normal activities in 4 to 6 weeks. Open surgery involves more pain afterward and a longer recovery period than laparoscopic surgery.

Try to walk each day. Follow your doctor's instructions for when you can start doing more strenuous activities, such as biking or jogging. You may want to avoid fatty foods for a while. They can cause symptoms like diarrhea or bloating.

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Several conditions may lead to surgery to remove the gallbladder. For example, you may need open surgery if you:

• Have severe inflammation of the bile duct or gallbladder.
• Have an inflamed abdominal lining (peritonitis).
• Have high pressure in blood vessels in the liver (portal hypertension). This is caused by cirrhosis of the liver.
• Are in the third trimester of pregnancy.
• Have a major bleeding disorder or use medicines to prevent blood clotting (blood thinners or anticoagulants).
• Have scar tissue from many previous belly surgeries.
• Have abnormal anatomy in the belly.

In 5 to 10 out of 100 laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries, the surgeon needs to switch to open surgery that requires a larger incision.^{footnote 1} This can happen when there are problems such as unexpected inflammation, scar tissue, injury, or bleeding.

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