Changes in operative trends and short‐term outcomes of surgery for congenital biliary dilatation in adults using real‐world data: A multilevel analysis based on a nationwide administrative database in Japan

AIM: We aimed to evaluate the operative trends and compare the short‐term outcomes between open and laparoscopic surgery for congenital biliary dilatation (CBD) in adults using real‐world data from Japan. METHODS: Data from the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database on 941 patients undergoing surgery for CBD at 357 hospitals from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2021, were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: open surgery (n = 764) and laparoscopic surgery (n = 177). We performed a retrospective analysis via a multilevel analysis of the short‐term surgical outcomes and costs between open and laparoscopic surgery. RESULTS: The rate of laparoscopic surgery has been increasing annually and had almost doubled to 25% by 2021. There were no significant differences in the in‐hospital mortality rate or postoperative morbidity between the two groups. The length of anesthesia was significantly longer in the laparoscopic than open surgery group (8.80 vs 6.16 hours, p < .001). The time to removal of the abdominal drain and length of hospital stay were significantly shorter in the laparoscopic than open surgery group (6.12 vs 8.35 days, p = .001 and 13.57 vs 15.79 days, p < .001, respectively). The coefficient for cost was 463 235 yen (95% confidence interval, 289 679‐636 792) higher in laparoscopic than open surgery (p < .001). CONCLUSION: The short‐term results were comparable between laparoscopic and open surgery for CBD. Further investigation is needed to validate our findings and long‐term outcomes.