Comparative Study between Early and Late Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in the Treatment of Acute Cholecystitis: A cohort prospective study.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the gold standard treatment of choice in the management of calculus gallbladder disease in the general population. The advantages of laparoscopic cholecystectomy over open surgery include less postoperative pain, early mobilisation, less pulmonary function impairment, decreased operative stress, and a shorter hospital stay. Aims and Objectives of the Study: For acute cholecystitis, we compared the clinical outcomes and costs of early versus delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials and Methods: The present prospective cohort study consists of 80 patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute cholecystitis admitted to the surgical wards either through OPD or emergency in the general surgery department. Results: The mean age of patients in early laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 32.47 years, whereas in late laparoscopic cholecystectomy it was 41.82 years. In the present study, males were 22 and females were 58, respectively. The mean duration of hospital stay was 3.50 days in early LC and 5.73 days in late LC. The mean duration of surgery was 40.71 minutes in early LC and 52.73 minutes in late LC. Conclusions: Early cholecystectomy is feasible and safe for acute cholecystitis and is a better method of treatment because of its shorter hospital stay, which is a major economic benefit to both the patient and the health care system. The level of difficulty in technique, peri-operative and post-operative complications, and hospital stay are higher in delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]