Early surgical intervention in acute cholecystitis

ABSTRACT

The role of early surgical intervention in the management of acute cholecystitis is evaluated. Forty one patients were studied. Early cholecystectomy was planned to be carried out for all patients unless there was a contraindication or poor surgical risk. Real time ultrasonography proved to be very reliable in establishing the diagnosis. Three patients were managed conservatively. Thirty eight patients were explored. Cholecystectomy was successfully accomplished in 30 patients and 2 had cholecystostomy. Flexibility of the time limit for performing early operation allowed cholecystectomy to be performed up to 8 days from the onset of the acute attack. Routine operative cholangiography is recommended since it detected CBD stones in 19.4% of patients. The morbidity rate was 13.9% and there was no mortality. The mean hospital stay for the surgically treated group was 9.8 days. Early surgical intervention is a safe, effective and relatively less costly procedure in the management of acute cholecystitis