Is laparoscopic cholecystectomy a safe procedure for patients receiving anticoagulant therapy?

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in patients on oral anticoagulant therapy. METHODS Four patients were involved in this study on whom the procedure was performed in a conventional manner paying meticulous attention to haemostasis. The oral anticoagulant was resumed the night of the operation, and the patient was discharged and acceptable international normalised ratio was achieved postoperatively. RESULTS There was no thrombo-embolic or haemorrhagic complication. The mean hospital stay was 5 days. CONCLUSION LC can be safely performed in patients on oral anticoagulant therapy.