Anatomy of Rouviere's Sulcus and Its Association with Complication of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

METHODS: This is a prospective observational study involving patients of age ≥16 years who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for uncomplicated gall stone at BPKIHS between May and July 2019. RESULT: 230 cases were analyzed, and RS was present in 90.4%. Open sulcus type was the commonest (54%), followed by scar type (22.9%), closed sulcus type (12.5%), and slit type (10.6%), respectively. In 59.1% of cases, it was oblique to the anterior, inferior, and external edge of the liver, while in the remaining cases, it was transverse. The mean ± SD values for operative time and duration of hospital stay in the RS visible and the RS not visible groups were 29.16 ± 8.736 and 42.9 ± 23.646 minutes, and 1.26 ± 0.440 and 1.90 ± 0.910 days, respectively (p value ≤0.001). One minor complication occurred in each group: RS initially visible group and RS visible on the adhesion release group, while 3 minor complications occurred in the RS not visible group. Only one major complication occurred in the RS not visible group. CONCLUSION: Identification of RS by operating surgeons is a predictor of safe laparoscopic cholecystectomy.