Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in ibadan, southwest Nigeria

Performing laparoscopic surgery in developing countries is challenging due to limited funds and instrumentation. Open cholecystectomy for the management of gallbladder pathologies is still rife in low income countries. The low incidence of post- operative morbidity and early return to activities of daily living makes laparoscopic surgery increasingly desirable. This retrospective study reviews the outcomes and challenges of laparoscopic cholecystectomies done over a two year period in a developing country.

We reviewed the records of all patients who consented to laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the Department of Surgery, University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan between June 2011 and June 2013.

Of the 77 patients requiring gallbladder surgery during the study period 42 (54.5%) patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Most patients were middle aged with a mean duration of symptoms of 20 months. None of the patients required biliary exploration. The most frequent operative complication was port site infection in 7 patients (14.3%). The average hospital stay was 2.7 days and most 27 (64%) patients were followed up at the outpatients department for over 6 months post- surgery with no identifiable morbidity. There were three conversions to open cholecystectomy.

Despite the small number of patients in this study, laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be practiced with good outcome even in a limited resource setting.