Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Retrospective Four-Year Study

Abstract

Background: Today, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is considered as the gold standard treatment for cholecystectomy, which is mainly due to improved results of laparoscopic surgery compared to the open surgery, and its cosmetic benefits. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in our institution. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study. Medical records of patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy from 2004 to 2008 were reviewed. The results and complications of surgery were collected using a checklist. Results: Participants included 500 patients with mean age of 47 ± 11 years. Three hundred ninety-one (78.2%) were female and 109 (21.8%) were male. Four hundred (80.0%) of patients had symptomatic cholelithiasis. The mean operating time was 70 ± 8 minutes. The most common intra-operative complication was bradycardia during gas insufflation into the abdominal cavity. In 430 (86.0%) of patients length of hospital stay was less than two days. Six patients (1.2%) were complicated by hernia at incision site, 18 (3.6%) by bile leakage, and 15 (3.0%) required laparotomy. Surgical site bleeding and surgical site infection were observed respectively in 11 patients (2.2%) and 17 patients (3.4%). Totally, 52 patients (10.4%) had surgically-induced complications, two (0.4%) of whom died. Conclusions: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy as the method of choice in treatment of gallbladder stone is associated with high success rate. This approach is increasingly being performed because of the decrease in patients' hospital stay, morbidity, and rapid return to normal life.