General Surgery

As a board-certified General Surgeon, Dr. Baker Henson provides comprehensive surgical care for a wide variety of abdominal and soft tissue conditions. He utilizes the latest minimally invasive and robotic techniques to ensure your surgery is safe, effective, and allows for the fastest possible recovery.

Gallbladder Removal (Cholecystectomy)

Your gallbladder is a small organ that stores bile. When the bile hardens into gallstones, they can block the ducts, causing severe, cramping pain in the upper right abdomen (especially after eating greasy or fatty foods). If the gallbladder becomes infected or inflamed (cholecystitis), it must be removed.

Gallbladder Anatomy: Stones can block the cystic duct, causing severe pain and inflammation.

Watch a Minimally Invasive Cholecystectomy

In this brief video demonstration, you can see how the gallbladder is safely detached and removed through a tiny keyhole incision.

What to Expect During Recovery

• Shoulder Pain: It is very common to experience an aching pain in your right shoulder for 24-48 hours after surgery. This is referred pain from the harmless carbon dioxide gas used to inflate your abdomen during the procedure. Walking frequently helps your body absorb this gas faster.
• The "Gallbladder Diet": Without a gallbladder, bile flows continuously into your intestines. For the first 2-4 weeks, stick to a low-fat diet to prevent diarrhea and bloating. Slowly reintroduce fats to see how your body tolerates them.
• Lifting Restrictions: Do not lift anything heavier than 30 pounds for 4 weeks to prevent causing a hernia at your incision sites.

Skin & Soft Tissue Surgery

Dr. Henson expertly manages and excises a variety of skin and soft tissue abnormalities, often right in the surgical clinic or as a quick outpatient procedure.

• Lipomas: Slow-growing, benign (non-cancerous) fatty lumps situated between the skin and the underlying muscle layer. If they become painful or grow too large, they can be surgically removed.
• Sebaceous Cysts: Closed sacs under the skin filled with a cheese-like material. If they become infected, they must be drained and the sac removed to prevent them from coming back.
• Melanoma & Skin Cancers: Dr. Henson performs wide local excisions for skin cancers, ensuring "clear margins" (meaning all cancer cells are removed) while prioritizing the best possible cosmetic outcome for the scar.

Anatomy of a lipoma and sebaceous cyst beneath the skin surface.