Audit of patients' experiences of cholecystectomy: laparoscopic and open operations compared

A study was undertaken to compare open cholecystectomy with laparoscopic in terms of patient related variables. This was not a randomized study but compared two groups of patients treated at different times. A number of variables were assessed. The study showed that each method was equally effective in treating symptomatic gall stone disease. Very few significant differences, in terms of the patients' perceptions of the procedures, were found, although the trend appeared to favour the laparoscopic procedure.