Feasibility of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis

To assess the safety of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) for acute cholecystitis.

All patients who underwent SILC at Sano Hospital (Kobe, Japan) between January 2010 and December 2014 were included in this retrospective study. Clinical data related to patient characteristics and surgical outcomes were collected from medical records. The parameters for assessing the safety of the procedure included operative time, volume of blood loss, achievement of the critical view of safety, use of additional trocars, conversion to laparotomy, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and duration of postoperative hospital stay. Patient backgrounds were statistically compared between those with and without conversion to laparotomy.

A total of 100 patients underwent SILC for acute cholecystitis during the period. Preoperative endoscopic treatment was performed for suspected choledocholithiasis in 41 patients (41%). The mean time from onset of acute cholecystitis was 7.7 d. According to the Updated Tokyo Guidelines (TG13) for the severity of cholecystitis, 86 and 14 patients had grade I and grade II acute cholecystitis, respectively. The mean operative time was 87.4 min. The mean estimated blood loss was 80.6 mL. The critical view of safety was obtained in 89 patients (89%). Conversion laparotomy was performed in 12 patients (12%). Postoperative complications of Clavien-Dindo grade III or greater were observed in 4 patients (4%). The mean duration of postoperative hospital stay was 5.7 d. Patients converted from SILC to laparotomy tended to have higher days after onset.

SILC is feasible for acute cholecystitis; in addition, early surgical intervention may reduce the risk of laparotomy conversion.