A comparison of the outcome between acute open and acute laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is now used in the management of acute cholecystitis, but still at the expense of a high conversion rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of LC in acute cholecystitis and compare it to acute open cholecystectomy (OC) in terms of complications, conversion rate, hospital stay and operation time. Methods: 94 patients with acute cystitis were admitted to the Emergency Department and non-randomly were divided into acute LC (n=46) and OC (n=48). Results: The mean of hospital stay was 3.4 and 5.4 days in acute LC and OC groups, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between acute LC and OC in terms of hospital stay. The operation time mean was 58.8 and 53.2 minutes in acute LC and OC, respectively. Conversion occurred in 7 patients (15.2%) in the acute LC group. Major complications occurred in two patients (5.1%) in acute LC and five patients (10.4%) in OC. Conclusion: In patients with acute LC, there was a decreased hospital and post-operative stay and major complications compared with OC. Laparoscopy appears to be a good approach and the first choice for emergency cholecystectomy in patients with acute cholecystitis