A nationwide analysis of gallbladder surgery in England between 2000 and 2019

There are no reports on nationwide trends in subtotal cholecystectomy (STC) and cholecystostomy in England. We hypothesized that, as in the United States, a substantial increase in the utilization of these surgical procedures, over time, may be observed. We aimed to generate a reliable report on 4 of the most common gallbladder surgical procedures in England to allow cross-procedure comparisons and highlight significant changes in the management of benign gallbladder disease over time.

We obtained data from NHS Digital and extracted population estimates from the Office of National Statistics. We examined the trends in the use of STC, cholecystostomy, cholecystolithotomy and total cholecystectomy (TC) between 2000 and 2019.

Of the 1,234,319 gallbladder surgeries performed, TC accounted for 96.8% (n = 1,194,786) and the other 3 surgeries for 3.2% (n = 39,533). The total number of gallbladder surgeries performed annually increased by 80.4% from 2000 to 2019. We detected increases in the counts of cholecystostomies by 723.1% (n = 290 in 2000 vs n = 2,387 in 2019) and STCs by 716.6% (n = 217 in 2000 vs n = 1,772 in 2019). Consequently, there was a decrease in the ratio of TC to STC (180:1 in 2000 vs 38:1 in 2019). A similar decrease was observed in the ratio of cholecystectomy to cholecystostomy (135:1 in 2000 vs 29:1 in 2019).

Increased utilization of STC and cholecystostomy was detected in England. These findings highlight the importance of regular monitoring of nationwide trends in gallbladder surgery and the associated clinical outcomes.