[Early operation in acute cholecystitis]

104 patients with acute cholecystitis were divided into four groups according to the kind of pre-operative treatment received: immediate; early; late; and interval operation. Total duration of hospital stay depended on the duration of pre-operative treatment. It was shortest (24.9 days) in those operated on within the first week, longest (71.1 days) in those operated on during the interval. Evidence of severe gallbladder wall changes (macroscopic and microscopic) was obtained in two thirds of patients, even after weeks of conservative treatment. Six patients (5.7%) died postoperatively, three of them after early operation. Overall mortality was only in part due to severe complications of the gallbladder disease.