Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England logoLink to Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
. 1993 Sep;75(5):349–353.

Post-cholecystectomy symptoms after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

M A Qureshi 1, P E Burke 1, N M Brindley 1, A L Leahy 1, D H Osborne 1, P J Broe 1, D J Bouchier-Hayes 1, P A Grace 1
PMCID: PMC2497962  PMID: 8215152

Abstract

Abdominal symptoms persist in up to 40% of patients after laparotomy cholecystectomy and biliary lithotripsy. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallstone disease. However, no data exist as to the influence of laparoscopic cholecystectomy on symptoms. We analysed 100 patients who had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a median of 12 months (range 10-19 months) previously. Pre- and postoperative symptoms were compared and patient satisfaction was graded from 1 (best) to 5 (worst). Time to resumption of full activity (mean +/- SD) was recorded. All patients had more than two symptoms preoperatively. Postoperatively, 61 patients had complete absence of symptoms, 14 patients complained of only one symptom during the postoperative period and 25 patients continued to have at least two symptoms. The mean time taken to return to full activity was 2.4 +/- 1.7 weeks. In patients without any symptoms postoperatively, time taken to return to full activity was 2.3 +/- 1.5 weeks, 2.7 +/- 1.4 weeks for patients with one symptom postoperatively, while patients with two or more symptoms returned to full activity in 2.3 +/- 1.3 weeks and 2.6 +/- 1.7 weeks, respectively. Notwithstanding that 25% of patients reported two or more symptoms postoperatively, most patients (n = 84) considered the procedure to be a complete success. A further 10 patients had significant improvement after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Five patients considered themselves only slightly improved, while a single patient was no better off postoperatively. These data indicate that after laparoscopic cholecystectomy most patients return to full activity within 3 weeks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Full text

PDF
349

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adrian T. E., Savage A. P., Bacarese-Hamilton A. J., Wolfe K., Besterman H. S., Bloom S. R. Peptide YY abnormalities in gastrointestinal diseases. Gastroenterology. 1986 Feb;90(2):379–384. doi: 10.1016/0016-5085(86)90936-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BARTLETT M. K., QUINBY W. C., Jr Surgery of the biliary tract. I. Mortality and complications of cholecystectomy and choledochostomy for chronic cholecystitis. N Engl J Med. 1956 Jan 26;254(4):154–156. doi: 10.1056/NEJM195601262540403. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bates T., Ebbs S. R., Harrison M., A'Hern R. P. Influence of cholecystectomy on symptoms. Br J Surg. 1991 Aug;78(8):964–967. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800780823. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bodvall B., Overgaard B. Computer analysis of postcholecystectomy biliary tract symptoms. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1967 Apr;124(4):723–732. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bouchier I. A., Rhodes K., Brien M. A study of symptomatic and "silent" gallstone. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1968;3(3):299–304. doi: 10.3109/00365526809180604. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gerber A., Apt M. K. The case against routine operative cholangiography. Am J Surg. 1982 Jun;143(6):734–736. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(82)90048-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Grace P. A., Quereshi A., Coleman J., Keane R., McEntee G., Broe P., Osborne H., Bouchier-Hayes D. Reduced postoperative hospitalization after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Br J Surg. 1991 Feb;78(2):160–162. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800780209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gunn A., Keddie N. Some clinical observations on patients with gallstones. Lancet. 1972 Aug 5;2(7771):239–241. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(72)91683-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Johnson A. G. Cholecystectomy and gallstone dyspepsia. Clinical and physiological study of a symptom complex. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1975 Feb;56(2):69–80. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Johnson A. G. Gallstones and flatulent dyspepsia: cause or coincidence? Postgrad Med J. 1971 Dec;47(554):767–772. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.47.554.767. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lee S. H., Burhenne H. J. Persistence of symptoms after gall bladder clearance with cholecystolithotripsy. Gut. 1991 May;32(5):536–538. doi: 10.1136/gut.32.5.536. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. McEntee G., Grace P. A., Bouchier-Hayes D. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy and the common bile duct. Br J Surg. 1991 Apr;78(4):385–386. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800780402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Muller E. L., Lewinski M. A., Pitt H. A. The cholecysto-sphincter of Oddi reflex. J Surg Res. 1984 Apr;36(4):377–383. doi: 10.1016/0022-4804(84)90114-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Nathanson L. K., Shimi S., Cuschieri A. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: the Dundee technique. Br J Surg. 1991 Feb;78(2):155–159. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800780208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rhodes M., Lennard T. W. Satisfaction after cholecystectomy. Lancet. 1988 Mar 12;1(8585):599–599. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91405-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ros E., Zambon D. Postcholecystectomy symptoms. A prospective study of gall stone patients before and two years after surgery. Gut. 1987 Nov;28(11):1500–1504. doi: 10.1136/gut.28.11.1500. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sandler A. D., Maher J. W., Weinstock J. V., Schmidt C. D., Schlegel J. F., Jew J. Y., Williams T. H. Tachykinins in the canine gastroesophageal junction. Am J Surg. 1991 Jan;161(1):165–170. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(91)90379-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Seif R. M. Routine operative cholangiography: a critical appraisal. Am J Surg. 1977 Nov;134(5):566–568. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(77)90435-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Stefanini P., Carboni M., Patrassi N., Loriga P., De Bernardinis G., Negro P. Factors influencing the long term results of cholecystectomy. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1974 Nov;139(5):734–738. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Tondelli P., Gyr K., Stalder G. A., Allgöwer M. The biliary tract. Part I: Cholecystectomy. Clin Gastroenterol. 1979 May;8(2):487–505. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Walsh T. N., Russell R. C. Cholecystectomy and gallbladder conservation. Br J Surg. 1992 Jan;79(1):4–5. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800790103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Webb T. H., Lillemoe K. D., Pitt H. A. Gastrosphincter of Oddi reflex. Am J Surg. 1988 Feb;155(2):193–198. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9610(88)80692-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Yip A. W., Ng W. S., Chow W. C., Choi T. K., Lam K. H. Plea for selective operative cholangiography. J R Coll Surg Edinb. 1991 Feb;36(1):21–24. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England are provided here courtesy of The Royal College of Surgeons of England

RESOURCES