Patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy – can preoperative complications be predicted?
Open Access
- 1 March 2004
- journal article
- Published by Royal College of Surgeons of England in The Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
- Vol. 86 (2) , 87-90
- https://doi.org/10.1308/003588404322827446
Abstract
To determine the nature and incidence of gallstone-related complications arising in patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy and to formulate a strategy to detect those most in need of urgent intervention. A retrospective analysis of the case notes of 337 consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy under a single surgeon in a district general hospital between 1995 and 1999. Of patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 65 (19.3%) were documented as suffering significant on-going symptoms, of whom 19 (5.6%) required hospital admission or urgent surgical review at median 8.9 weeks (range 0.1-32.3 weeks) after being placed on the waiting list. Factors predictive of symptom recurrence included: (i) initial acute presentation; (ii) diagnoses of jaundice, pancreatitis, or acute cholecystitis; (iii) elevation of amylase or liver function tests; and (iv) small stones on ultrasonography examination. A significant proportion of patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy experience stone-related complications requiring hospital admission. We feel it is possible to reduce this number by selecting those most at risk on the basis of their history and pre-operative investigations for more urgent intervention.Keywords
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