[Sequelae of cholecystectomy--a prospective study]

In a prospective study designed to assess the situation following cholecystectomy carried out at the Department of Surgery of the University of Freiburg, 105 patients were examined between August, 1988 and December, 1989. Out of 80 patients who were followed up, 64 had undergone cholecystectomy alone and the remaining 16 had been additionally subjected to exploration of the common bile duct. 80% of the patients reported that their preoperative symptoms had disappeared altogether, 8% admitted some improvement and 10% complained that their condition was unchanged. Specific questioning resulted in the reporting of persistent symptoms in 54%, and these consisted mostly of general complaints such as dyspepsia, flatulence, food intolerance and dull upper abdominal pain. These complaints were vanished or appeared with equal frequency following operation. Objective clinical findings could not be confirmed. Comparison between the pre- and postoperative signs in these patients established a statistically significant correlation (p < 0.05) between the patient's age and the severity of the preoperative symptoms on the one hand and a satisfactory postoperative outcome on the other. This also applied to patients for whom an examination of the bile duct was necessary.