Minimal increase in serum interleukin-6 levels during laparoscopic cholecystectomy

The chronologic changes in the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a mediator for acute-phase inflammation, were compared between laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and open cholecystectomy (OC), since these two types of operations were considered to be a unique model for examining the role of local tissue injury in postoperative inflammatory reactions. The increase in the serum IL-6 level during LC was found to be significantly smaller than that during OC and resulted in a smaller extent of postoperative elevations for C-reactive protein. These results suggest that laparoscopic surgery associated with minimal tissue injury can help limit an increase in the serum IL-6 level during surgery, thus contributing to a reduction in surgical stress.