Early vs interval cholecystectomy in acute cholecystitis: An experience at Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital,Lahore

Background: laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the procedure of choice in chronic cholecystitis. the probability of employing this procedure for cases of acute cholecystitis has always remained a question.aim: to assess its safety and practicability in acute cholecystitis and to compare the results with interval cholecystectomy.methods: between 2010 and 2013,88 patients with a diagnosis of acute cholecystitis were assigned to two groups. group a (n=47) and group b (n=41). the group a patients underwent cholecystectomy within 48 hours of admission while the group b patients were offered initial conservative management followed 6 weeks later by interval laparoscopic cholecystectomy.results: regarding conversion rates (early,14.89% vs delayed,14.63%),operating times (early,51.28 min vs delayed,46.09 min),or postoperative complications (early,27.65% vs delayed,26.82%) were almost similar. however,the group a patients had significantly shorter hospital stay (5.08 vs 7.99 days).conclusions: early laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe and practical in cases of acute cholecystitis. it has an added benefit of a shorter hospital stay. the procedure is recommended to patients with acute cholecystitis. © 2014 pakistan journal of medical and health sciences. all rights reserved.