Synchronous Open Heart Surgery and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: An Observational Case Study with 28 Patients

Acute cholecystitis (AC) may be a severe problem and may increase the mortality rate and hospital stay in patients who undergo open heart surgery (OHS), due to its aggressive course; therefore, AC should be treated as soon as possible. We aimed to present data on our synchronous cardiac and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) operations performed for AC complicating patients with cardiac disease and who were waiting to undergo OHS. Between January 2008 and September 2014, we performed 2773 OHSs in Medical Park Gaziantep Hospital. Among these, 28 (1%) patients underwent concomitant LC in the same session by the same experienced surgeon. The mean age of the patients was 61.4 ± 9.1 years, and the proportion of males was 71.4 per cent. Acalculous cholecystitis was found in 42.9 per cent of the patients. Patients stayed in the intensive care unit for 3.1 ± 1.4 days and were discharged from the hospital after 16.5 ± 6.3 days. Postoperative 2-year follow-up was completed in all patients with a mean follow-up period of 3.4 ± 2.0 years. The overall complication rate was 28.6 per cent. LC-related complications were seen in four patients. No inhospital mortality was observed. Only one patient who underwent mitral valve replacement and tricuspid valve repair died in the second year after the operation due to congestive heart failure. Three patients died due to noncardiac reasons in the follow-up period. By increasing the experiences of surgeons in laparoscopic surgery in critically ill patients, LC can be safely performed concurrently in patients scheduled for OHS.