Background: Acute cholecystitis is a common disease. The best management
in early cases is surgical, but the optimal timing for surgery remains
controversial. With advances and increased experience in laparoscopic
surgery, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is increasingly being used in the
management of acute cholecystitis.
Aims: To determine the best time to operate in acute cholecytitis (early vs.
delayed) and to compare the results of laparoscopic approach with those of
open surgery in the treatment of acute cholecystitis .
Patients and Methods: This was a prospective study done at al‐Yarmouk
teaching hospital, Baghdad from Sep. 1st 2012 to Sep. 2nd 2013. All patients
admitted with a proved diagnosis of acute cholecystitis were included. The
patients were divided into two groups, the first group had early
cholecystectomy, laparoscopic (LC) or open (OC). The second group was
treated conservatively and delayed cholecystectomy was done. Detailed
clinical, investigative and imaging data were recorded. The details of the
operative findings, procedures and early post‐operative complications, were
documented.
Results: There were 146 patients, 82.2% female and 17.8% male. The mean age
was 40±2 years. Early surgery was done for 32.8% of patients, 58.4% as a
laparoscopic procedure, and 41.6% as an open procedure. Delayed
cholecystectomy was done in 67.2% of cases. In the early group,the difficulty
was minimal in 27.2%, moderate in 39.5%, marked in 25 % and very difficult with
conversion done in 8.3%. Early complications were noticed in 4.2% in the early
LC group, and 8.3% in the early OC. For delayed LC, 8.1% had early
complications vs. 6.1% for delayed OC.
Conclusions: Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a safe and feasible
approach to the management of acute cholecystitis. |