Cholecystomucoclasis: revaluation of safety and validity in aged populations

BACKGROUND We evaluated the safety and validity of cholecystomucoclasis (CM) and compared its intraoperative characteristics with those of standard cholecystectomy (SC). METHODS We enrolled 174 patients who underwent cholecystectomy and retrospectively evaluated the outcomes of patients in the SC and CM groups. RESULTS Significant differences in age (71.1 vs. 61.9 years), American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS), and serum C-reactive protein levels (CRP) (18.1 vs. 4.7 mg/dL) were observed between the CM and SC groups. Conversely, no significant differences were observed in the operation time (129 vs. 108 min), amount of blood loss (147 vs. 80 mL), intraoperative complications (0% vs. 5.7%), or duration of hospital stay (13.2 vs. 8.9 days) between the 2 groups. A high conversion rate (35.3%), postoperative complications (33%), and frequent drain insertions (94%) were observed in the CM group. CONCLUSIONS CM is a safe and valid surgical procedure and surgeons should not hesitate to transition to CM for patients who are of advanced age, in poor general condition (high ASA classification), or have high levels of serum CRP.