Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: the Singapore experience

A questionnaire survey was conducted in April 1992, 2 years after the first laparoscopic cholecystitis (LC) was performed in Singapore. The aim was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this new procedure. Twenty surgeons performed 1,066 LC, of which 93% were done electively, mainly for biliary colic and chronic cholecystitis. Acutely inflamed gallbladders accounted for 6.5% of cases. Fifty-seven (5.4%) patients had to be converted to open surgery, 108 (10.1%) patients required preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for suspected choledocholithiasis, and 57 (5.4%) intraoperative cholangiograms were done. Common bile duct injuries occurred in 10 (0.9%) patients, of which six (0.6%) were transections. Seven (0.6%) patients developed bile leakage. Minor complications occurred in another 10 (0.9%) patients. There was one (0.09%) death.