The Benefits of Percutaneous Transhepatic Gallbladder Drainage prior to Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Acute Cholecystitis

PURPOSE: Several studies have reported that laparoscopic cholecystectomy with percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) is associated with a reduced duration of surgery and a lower rate of conversion to open laparotomy compared with laparoscopic cholecystectomy without PTGBD and delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy after conservative therapy. However, these results are contradictory. This retrospective study investigated the safety and usefulness of laparoscopic cholecystectomy combined with pre-operative PTGBD in patients with acute cholecystitis. METHODS: The clinicopathologic data and surgical outcomes of 101 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy between January 2010 and September 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Patients in the PTGBD group vs. the non-PTGBD group were significantly older (mean age: 65.47±12.2 vs. 56.32±13.7; p=0.001). Underlying diseases were also significantly more common in the PTGBD group (75.4% vs. 45.5%; p=0.002). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of operative time, blood loss, rate of open conversion, postoperative oral intake, and postoperative hospital stay. Total hospital day was significantly longer in the PTGBD group (11.14±7.22 vs. 6.23±5.17; p=0.049). There was no significant difference in the postoperative complications between the two groups, and all patients in this study lived. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that satisfactory results can be achieved with selective preoperative PTGBD in older and sicker patients with acute cholecystitis.

Impact of PTGBD on Patients with Acute Complicated Cholecystitis: Consecutive 4,000 Cases of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy / 대한내시경복강경외과학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the advantage of adequate PTGBD in acute complicated cholecystitis patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of a collected database from September 2001 to July 2008. Acute cholecystitis with gangrene or perforation was defined as acute complicated cholecystitis. A PTGBD was performed for these patients immediately after the diagnosis using US or CT and then a tubogram was performed after 5~7 days. After evaluating the gallbladder (GB) and common bile duct (CBD) with a tubogram, we removed the drainage tube and the patients underwent a LC after readmission. RESULTS: Three hundred seventy four of the 893 patients who were diagnosed with acute cholecystitis underwent PTGBD. While 19 (3.2%) of the total acute cholecystitis patients were converted to open cholecystectomy due to severe inflammation, 14 (3.7%) of the acute complicated patients were converted to open cholecystectomy. In 79 patients, the pre-operative tubogram showed the presence of CBD stone and so ERCP was performed. There were no post-operative deaths. CONCLUSION: PTBGD in acute complicated cholecystitis patients allows the early relief of acute cholecystitis symptoms. This allows sufficient evaluation and treatment for CBD during the PTGBD state. Furthermore, this decreases the mortality and morbidity in the high-risk patients due to sufficient evaluation and management of the underlying critical disease, which allows elective cholecystectomy when the patients is in better condition for surgery. Therefore, PTGBD can be useful for acute complicated cholecystitis.

Impact of PTGBD on Patients with Acute Complicated Cholecystitis: Consecutive 4,000 Cases of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy / 대한내시경복강경외과학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the advantages of adequate PTGBD in patients with acute complicated cholecystitis. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of a database that was collected from September 2001 to July 2008. Acute cholecystitis with gangrene or perforation was defined as acute complicated cholecystitis. A PTGBD was performed for the patients immediately after the diagnosis using US or CT and then a tubogram was performed after 5~7 days. After evaluating the gallbladder (GB) and common bile duct (CBD) with a tubogram, we removed the drainage and the patients underwent a LC after readmission. RESULTS: Three hundred seventy four of the 893 patients who were diagnosed with acute cholecystitis underwent PTGBD. While 19 (3.2%) of the total acute cholecystitis patients were converted to open cholecystectomy due to severe inflammation, 14 (3.7%) acute complicated patients were converted to open cholecystectomy. In 79 patients, the pre-operative tubogram showed the presence of CBD stone and so ERCP was performed. There was no post-operative death. CONCLUSION: Performing PTBGD in patients with acute complicated cholecystitis allows the early relief of the symptoms of acute cholecystitis. This allows for sufficient evaluation and treatment for CBD during the PTGBD state. Further, PTBGD decreases the mortality and morbidity in the high-risk patients due to sufficient evaluation and management of the underlying critical disease. PTBGD allows for performing elective cholecystectomy when the patient is in a better condition for surgery. Therefore, PTGBD can be useful for treating acute complicated cholecystitis.

Comparison of Early Versus Delayed Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy after Percutaneous Transhepatic Gallbladder Drainage (PTGBD) for Patient with Complicated Acute Cholecystitis

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the safety and conversion rate of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) after percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) in patients with a complicated acute cholecystitis (GB empyema, gangrenous cholecystitis and pericholecystic abscess) according to the timing of LC. METHODS: One hundred and four patients, who underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy after PTGBD between March 2004 and December 2006, were analyzed. Thirty-four patients underwent LC within 7 days after PTGBD (early group, n=34) and 38 patients underwent LC between 14 and 39 days after PTGBD (delayed group, n=38). Thirty-two patients were excluded because of gallbladder cancer (n=2), simple acute cholecystitis (n=12), a history of previous abdominal surgery (n=5), and LC between 8 and 13 days after PTGBD (n=13). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in age (early group, 58.4+/-11.2; delayed group, 61.0+/-12.1), diagnosis, duration of symptoms, WBC counts, interval of admission and PTGBD, improvement of symptoms after PTGBD, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, prior medical history, post-PTGBD and postoperative complications, and operation time. The rate of conversion to an open laparotomy was 14.7% (5/34) in the early group and 2.6% (1/38) in the delayed group (statistically not significant). CONCLUSION: The timing of LC after PTGBD for a complicated acute cholecystitis does not influence the rate of conversion to an open laparotomy, surgery time and complication. However, a delayed LC after PTGBD tends to decrease the rate of conversion to an open laparotomy.