Laparoscopic cholecystectomy under epidural anesthesia: a retrospective comparison of 100 patients

There are limited data about laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) under epidural anesthesia. This retrospective comparative study aimed to evaluate on the feasibility and advantages of LC under epidural anesthesia. In this retrospective comparative study, 100 patients (46 men and 54 women) with symptomatic cholelithiasis undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy using epidural anesthesia (EA) were compared with 100 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy using general anesthesia (GA). Both groups were evaluated with regard to intraoperative mean arterial pressure, heart rate, operation time, duration of stay in the recovery room, and hospital cost. Laparoscopic operation was performed for 200 patients. Mean age of patients was 46.4 ± 6.9 years and 45.3 ± 6.8 years in EA and GA, respectively. Forty-six and 50 per cent of subjects were male in EA and GA, respectively. The mean operation time was 24 minutes and 25.58 minutes for EA and GA, respectively (P = 0.652). The duration of stay in the recovery room was significantly shorter in EA than that in GA (19.56 ± 2.55 minutes vs 56.27 ± 6.85 minutes, respectively; P = 0.0001). In the EA group, 23 patients (23%) had severe shoulder pain during surgery. After receiving pethidine intravenously, all these patients could subsequently undergo surgery smoothly. There were no complications or mortality in either group. Most of the patients regarded EA as a comfortable procedure. The mean hospital cost for the EA group was only three-fourths that of the GA group. LC under EA is feasible and safe in selected patients.