Day-surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy: factors influencing same-day discharge

Day-surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) should be the procedure of choice in patients with symptomatic gallstone disease. This article assesses feasibility, patient outcome and predictive factors for successful day-case laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

A retrospective analysis of our prospective database of 176 patients following laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a day-surgery unit was performed. A telephone interview was conducted within 24 h after discharge and again after 3 weeks.

Of the 176 cases included in this study, 74% had biliary colic, cholecystitis (16%), pancreatitis (8%), and jaundice (2%). In addition to LC, nine patients (5.1%) underwent laparoscopic bile duct exploration and ten (5.7%) had an additional procedure performed. Eighty-six percent of the patients were discharged the same day. Multivariate analysis identified risk factors affecting same-day discharge, including age greater than 50 years and intraoperative complications. Bile duct exploration reduced the odds of discharge but did not reach significance. Postoperative telephone interviews identified high patient satisfaction with 86% of respondents recommending LC as a day-surgery procedure.

Day-surgery LC is a safe procedure with an acceptable rate of patient discharge. However, intraoperative complications or age over 50 years adversely affected the same-day discharge rate and as such should be taken into consideration when planning day-case laparoscopic cholecystectomy.