Ask a doctor on the topic of Internal medicine

Abdominal fat shifted after gallbladder surgery.

April 16, 2015 | 15,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Ive Dr. Schaaf

Four weeks ago, I had a minimally invasive gallbladder removal. So far, everything has gone well and healed. However, my stomach above the navel is larger than before. I have a very large roll of fat there. It's as if all my belly fat suddenly collects in that one spot. I don't have any pain, but it looks bad... The doctor said that the subcutaneous belly fat has shifted due to internal stitches or staples.
Does this happen often? Is there anything I can do about it? If I manage to lose weight, will this area become flatter? At the moment, there is still a roll there even when I pull my stomach in. That was definitely different before the surgery!
I would be very grateful for a response!

Dr. med. Ive Dr. Schaaf

Good evening,

This does not happen often and I cannot understand the explanation given by your doctor. The procedure is performed with a bloated abdomen so that something can be seen inside the abdomen. Gas is blown into the abdominal cavity and then released at the end. However, it can happen that gas remains in the abdomen and causes bloating for a longer period of time. I would consider this to be likely. The gas is then in the entire abdomen and not just above the navel, but it affects everyone differently.

Such a change will go away over time and losing weight will also help, of course.

Get well soon,

Dr. Schaaf