Acute Cholecystitis and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) should be the procedure of choice in treating acute cholecystitis. METHOD: A prospective study was conducted over a 4 1/2-year period. There were 187 patients with acute cholecystitis out of 1020 patients with gallbladder disease who required cholecystectomy. These patients were divided into three groups based on the time interval between the onset of pain and the time patients sought medical attention: Group 1, < 3 days; Group 2, 3 to 7 days; Group 3, > 7 days. All the patients underwent LC after a comprehensive preoperative workup. The parameters analyzed included operating time, hospital stay, and conversion rate. The comparison was made among the various groups and with those who had elective LC. RESULTS: One hundred twenty patients (64.17%) presented for treatment within 3 to 7 days of the onset of an attack. Empyema of the gallbladder was seen in 106 (56.68%) patients and phlegmon of the gallbladder in 42 (22.46%) patients. Group 3 patients had an operative time of 56.2 min as opposed to 18.5 min in Group 1 and 17.5 min in the elective LC group. The conversion rate in Group 3 was 19.5% versus 3.8% in Group 1 and 3.48% in the elective LC group. The complication rate was 7.3% in Group 3, 3.8% in Group 1, and 3.7% in the elective LC group. CONCLUSION: Acute cholecystitis is better managed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy, except in the patients presenting with a gallbladder phlegmon later than 7 days after the onset of the attack.