Abstract
Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is safe in acute cholecystitis, but the exact timing remains ill-defined. This study evaluated the effect of timing of LC in patients with acute cholecystitis. Methods: Prospective data from the hospital registry were reviewed. All patients admitted with acute cholecystitis from June 1994 to January 2004 were included in the cohort. Results: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was attempted in 1,967 patients during the study period; 80% were women, mean patient age was 44 years (range, 20-73 years). Of the 1,967 LC procedures, 1,675 were successful, and 292 were converted to an open procedure (14%). Mean operating time for LC was 1 h 44 min (SD ± 50 min), versus 3 h 5 min (SD ± 79 min) when converted to an open procedure. Average postoperative length of stay was 1.89 days (± 2.47 days) for the laparoscopic group and 4.3 days (± 2.2 days) for the conversion group. No clinically relevant differences regarding conversion rates, operative times, or postoperative length of stay were found between patients who were operated on within 48 h compared to those patients who were operated on post-admission days 3-7. Conclusions: The timing of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with acute cholecystitis has no clinically relevant effect on conversion rates, operative times, or length of stay.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 805-809 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Surgical Endoscopy and Other Interventional Techniques |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2007 |
Keywords
- Cholecystectomy
- Complications
- Laparoscopic
- Timing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery