Evaluating the feasibility of two-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A minimally invasive approach

To establish a two-port minimally invasive laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) technique that minimises surgical scarring and alleviates post-operative pain.

A cohort study was conducted, enrolling patients meeting the inclusion criteria to undergo two-port minimally invasive LC. The outcomes were compared with those of patients who underwent conventional LC performed by other medical teams. The clinical and pathological data were collected. Visual Analogue Scale scores were used to assess incision pain on post-operative days 1 and 15. Statistical analyses were performed to compare pain scores between the groups.

Between November 2020 and June 2021, 56 patients met the screening criteria and were enrolled in the study group. Of these, 42 patients successfully underwent two-port LC, while 14 cases were converted to conventional three-port LC. No post-operative complications, such as bleeding or bile leakage, occurred, and all patients were discharged without incident. On day 1 post-surgery, the average incision pain score in the two-port LC group was 1.4 ± 0.95, significantly lower than 1.8 ± 1.32 in the conventional LC group (P = 0.02). On day 15 post-surgery, 13 patients (23.2%) in the two-port LC group reported subxiphoid incision pain, compared to 63 patients (41.4%) in the conventional LC group.

For patients meeting indications for conventional LC, early implementation of two-port minimally invasive LC achieved a success rate of 75%. Compared to conventional LC, this technique did not significantly shorten operative time or reduce the complication rates. However, it decreased the number of incisions to two, reduced scar size from 10 mm to 3 mm and significantly alleviated post-operative pain. It is worthy of clinical application and promotion.