Vital Signs VitalSigns2_2017 | Page 2

Vital Signs Vital Signs is brought to you by the physicians of the Greater Louisville Medical Society. It is a free health and wellness publication intended for educating patients on important medical health topics. Vital Signs Team David Watkins, MD Vital Signs Adviser Bert Guinn, MBA, CAE Executive Vice-President/CEO Appendicitis and Gall Bladder Surgeries With Dr. Russell Williams Cheri K. McGuire Director of Marketing Aaron Burch GLMS Communications Specialist Kate Williams GLMS Communications Designer McKenna Byerley Public Relations Associate GLMS Mission Promote the science, art and profession of medicine; Protect the integrity of the patient- physician relationship; Advocate for the health and well-being of the community; Unite physicians regardless of practice setting to achieve these ends. GALLBLADDER Notice Vital Signs is published by the Greater Louisville Medical Society, 328 E. Main St. Louisville, KY 40202 Phone [phone] Fax [phone] www.glms.org APPENDIX For more information, contact Aaron Burch at [phone] or [email protected]. Vital Signs is underwritten by: Inflammation of both the gall bladder and appendix often starts with discomfort in the abdomen, an aching pain in your midsection that won’t go away and appears to be getting worse as it is left unattended. Nausea and fever normally accompany the illnesses as well. Gall bladder removals (cholecystectomy) are a much more common occurrence than appendec- tomies. Some 600,000 cholecystectomies take place each year in the United States, compared to approximately 30,000 appendectomies. With proper medical care, neither of these afflictions are fatal. However, both are very serious, and your physician should be consulted immediately to avoid more complications. Copyright 2017 The Greater Louisville Medical Society. All rights reserved. 2 A surgeon of 27 years and GLMS Past-President Dr. Russell Williams recently sat down with GLMS Communications Specialist Aaron Burch to discuss the ins and outs of these procedures. Please read on to get to know the basics of gall bladder and appendix surgery. VITAL SIGNS Volume 12 • Issue 2