For all the doctors out there... about gallstones and liver problems...?

Hi all!

I have a friend who has a major health problem, and I'm not sure how serious it is.

She has gallstones brought on by pregnancy. She gets major attacks almost twice a week. She saw a specialist about 3 weeks ago, who told her that her liver is diseased as well. She has to have surgery to have her gall bladder removed, part of her liver removed, and the bile duct from the stomach to the liver re-constructed.

She's pretty easy-going about it all, but can anyone tell me just how serious it really is? Could she die from the surgery?
She isn't even 20 yet, her partner is almost 21 and he works all the time, so she can stay home and take care of their 8-week old baby girl.
I need to know what her chances are.

If there are any doctors out there that know their stuff, please help me out. Thank you.

She was slightly overweight before she fell pregnant, but she lost a little weight throughout her pregnancy, and now she's deteriorating to skin and bone because she's not allowed to eat anything or her attacks will become more severe.
And, to the first person who replied, you're an insensitive prick.

While I am not a doctor i do offer my own personal experiences.
First being, any surgery no matter how minor or major has the potential for catastrophic outcome.
Secondly, I had gallstones that completely blocked the bile duct rendering me to emergency surgery in the middle of the night. At the time, some 30 years ago, doctors performed a much more radical surgery, opening the abdomen to remove the gallbladder leaving the victim with an 8-10 inch scar. Today, it is done with laparoscopy which is very minimally invasive.
As for the liver, I cannot offer any insight. I would definitely get a second opinion before making any decisions one way or the other!
Wishing your friend best wishes and a healthy recovery!

Lucky for you I was passing by, I do know my stuff and I can also diagnose your friend through my computer screen.. She will die. The cause of death will be lack of oxygen to the brain. As far as when I and no one else has any idea! Good luck!

all surgery could result in death. let me guess your friend is over weight? this is very common in females who are fat and fertile and usually in their forties, but there is a big problem of obese young people these days. she has to get this done anyway or she will die. she has a very good chance of a normal recovery. i pray for you and your friend god bless

It is impossible to completely answer this question as I don't know enough about your friends condition or the exact surgery planned.
All surgery carries risks, and most of these are related to anaesthetics, the pre-surgical condition of the patient, and the type of procedure.
Yes, she could die from the surgery, but I would say, this is very unlikely in today's society from this kind of operation. But again, I don't know the specifics of her liver disease.

In other words, she will most likely recover from the surgery. For any more advice, you will need to talk to your friend and ask them to talk more with their surgeon +/- anaesthetist.

All the best to your friend