Feasibility and safety of day surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a university hospital using a standard clinical pathway.

INTRODUCTION Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is currently the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallstone disease. In recent years, there has been a trend towards outpatient cholecystectomy. The aim of our study was to report on our experience with day surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy and to assess its feasibility and safety. METHODS Data on all the patients who underwent day surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy between February 2006 and December 2006 were collected. They all had symptomatic cholelithiasis proven on imaging or had previous history of biliary pancreatitis or cholangitis with normalisation of liver function test and imagery clearance of the common duct. The patients' biographical data (age, gender, American Society of Anaesthesiology [ASA] status, medical comorbidities) and surgical outcomes were then obtained. The success rate of day surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy, reasons for overnight admission and re-admission rate were evaluated. RESULTS A total of 50 patients were included in our study. The success rate for day surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 92 percent. The patients who failed day surgery procedure are mostly of an older age group with high ASA grading. Reasons for admission for these patients included persistent abdominal pain and postoperative emesis. Our re-admission rate was four percent. CONCLUSION Day surgery laparoscopic cholecystectomy is both safe and feasible in local settings. Careful patient selection is essential in ensuring a high success rate.