Radiological investigation in laparoscopic compared with conventional cholecystectomy--an early assessment

The implications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for radiology were assessed by comparing imaging investigations in 48 LC and 48 conventional cholecystectomy (CC) patients. In addition, we attempted to identify findings on pre-operative ultrasound (US) which predicted operative difficulties at LC. There were no per-operative or T-tube cholangiograms in the LC patients, but otherwise the pattern of investigation was similar in both groups. Forty of the 48 CC patients underwent cholangiography (per-operative cholangiography in 36, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in two, and both in two) demonstrating calculi in eight (16.7%) cases. Only four LC patients had cholangiography (ERCP in all cases) demonstrating common bile duct (CBD) calculi in one (2.1%) case. Ultrasound failed to identify the gall-bladder with certainty in three of the five failed LC cases. Neither gall-bladder wall thickness, contraction nor calculus size on pre-operative US served as predictors of other per-operative difficulties. Our results indicate that there may be some patients with retained CBD calculi in the LC group. The role of pre-operative US in predicting operative difficulties needs further assessment in a prospective study.