Treatment strategies of drain after complicated laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis

Acute cholecystitis (AC) is the most common biliary tract disease, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is recognized as the treatment of choice. The present study in this issue compared the surgical outcomes, particularly the occurrence of postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) in patients with and without drain placement following complicated LC for AC. It showed that late drain removal demonstrated significantly worse surgical outcomes than no drain placement and early drain removal for overall complications, postoperative hospital stay, and SSIs. Drain placement is not routinely recommended, even after complicated LC for AC. When placing a drain, early drain removal is recommended for postoperative outcomes such as SSIs.